


The Power of a Hero

by Illegal_Meme_Dealer



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Epilogue, Gen, Sibling Rivalry, Wholesome, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illegal_Meme_Dealer/pseuds/Illegal_Meme_Dealer
Summary: A boy that fell from the sky. A new mystery about Adora’s past. And a new villain, rising in the wake of Horde Prime’s defeat, that won’t stop until every last trace of the First Ones is erased from the universe. The Best Friend Squad just can’t catch a break.New chapters every... whenever!I’ve tagged every character and ship that currently appears, not every character that has yet to appear- stick around because I plan on including as many as possibleAnyway #sheramovie I guess lol
Relationships: Adora/Catra, Bow/Glimmer, Lonnie/Kyle/Rogelio, Scorpia/Perfuma, Spinnerella/Netossa
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	1. The Message

**Author's Note:**

> Note: this story contains characters from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a show I have never seen and don’t intend to see, as I’m pretty much re-writing the entire mythos to fit with the 2018 reboot. If these inconsistencies bug you, I’m sorry :(. Also, you don’t have to know anything about Masters of the Universe to enjoy this fic, treat them like OCs if you don’t know anything about the original character I guess idk

It was late at night. The kingdom of Dryl moved quickly at the best of times- robots didn’t need to sleep, after all- but in Princess Entrapta’s sanctum (well, it was really her old workshop, but she thought ‘sanctum’ sounded classy), there was a positive whirlwind of work.  
Entrapta herself was investigating an old piece of First Ones tech, a wide dish she assumed to be for receiving- and, more importantly- storing messages. Helping her was Hordak, who was looking over some jumbled-looking code on one of the many screens dotted around the work station, and Wrong Hordak, who was standing in the corner with a plate of tiny cupcakes.  
“Hey, Hordak? Any progress on that code?” Entrapta gave him a nudge with a tendril of hair.  
“This would be much faster with someone that actually speaks First One fluently.” Hordak grumbled. “Nevertheless, I believe I’m making progress”  
Entrapta rolled her eyes. “I already told you, dummy. Adora’s coming over tomorrow, and science can’t wait until then.” She plugged a set of wires into the device holding the dish, causing yet more screens of data and diagnostics to blink on.  
“Ah!” Hordak pounded his fist on the desk triumphantly.  
Entrapta winced at the loud noise. “You ok?”  
“I’m very sorry, it’s a habit.” The tips of Hordak’s ears flushed red with shame. “However, I believe I’ve translated an important portion of the code.” He tapped a screen with the tip of his claw. “Here, it contains instructions for outputting a message. Something to do with… Brother? I believe that says hologram?”  
Wrong Hordak trotted over. He did the endearing little squint Entrapta had noticed both brothers do when they were concentrating as he scanned the lines of code. “Yes, that does say hologram, brother!” He winked.  
“Thank you, brother.” Hordak turned to Entrapta. “This line of code states this receiver outputs messages as holograms. And therefore, to see the message data it holds-“  
“We need the right output device! Thank you Hordak, you’re a genius!” Entrapta gave him a quick hug, then began reshuffling wires- within a few seconds, blue lights had blinked to life on the device, and a glowing blue form had taken shape in the middle of the sanctum.  
It was that of a young man, kneeling on the floor. His light hair hung limply around his thin face, his teeth gritted with pain. A sword was strapped to his back with a leather cord- a short sword that looked strikingly familiar, though Entrapta couldn’t quite put her finger on it. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, only panting as if to catch his breath.  
“Fascinating,” Entrapta whispered, pen and paper at the ready.  
“Hello. My name is Prince Adam, and if you’re watching this message, Eternia has fallen.” Tears had begun to stream down the boy’s face. “I wasn’t enough to stop him. These past few weeks, he’s gotten far stronger, I can’t explain why, and now…”  
There was the noise of a pounding door somewhere just outside the hologram.  
“I don’t have much time. He won’t stop until he’s killed every Eternian in the galaxy. Please, if you’re seeing this, prepare your defences, or start running. And-“  
The pounding grew louder.  
“Adora.” The young man grew frantic. “If you’re somehow hearing this, I’m sorry. Sorry I didn’t find out you were alive sooner. Sorry I didn’t question the lies they fed me. Sorry for not being a better brother.”  
He stood, and it was only then Entrapta noticed the huge gash in his side- even through the blue monotone of the hologram, she could make out a dark ring of blood staining his shirt. He drew his sword.  
“But I won’t die today. Come at me, Skeletor! By the power of Grey-“  
The hologram shut off. The sanctum was left in total, stunned silence.  
“What the heck?“ Wrong Hordak was first to break the silence.  
“I need to take more notes!” Entrapta said, hurrying over to the device. “Hordak, Wrong Hordak, can you guys make that play again?”  
“We could,” Hordak began, “but- no that can’t be right.”  
“What‘s wrong?” Entrapta asked.  
“The date this was sent. This code says it was only sent... a few hours ago.”  
“Meaning…” Entrapta gasped. “There are more First Ones out there!”  
“More importantly,” Hordak said, tightening his grip on the desk. “So’s whatever it was that killed them.”


	2. Fallen star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is technically the first proper chapter with the main characters in, so if you’re reading this hi! Hopefully this’ll be updated once a week, but you already know how much you can trust fanfic authors with that statement so uh yeah

The same night, Catra and Adora lay together on a balcony in Brightmoon, watching the stars. It still felt weird, seeing the once-blank night sky scattered with what looked like diamond dust. Catra never really cared for the stars- secretly, she hated the way they reminded her of the mistake she made in the Fright Zone with the portal. However, she loved the way they gave her an excuse to cuddle with Adora on nights like this.   
She closed her eyes, and nestled in, taking in every little detail of the woman she loved. The way Catra’s enhanced sense of smell let her make out the scent of flowers from the Whispering Woods on Adora’s hair. The way her strong arms made Catra feel safe, knowing nothing could hurt them so long as they were together. The way-  
“Hey, is that a shooting star?” Adora shook Catra awake.   
Catra sighed. She even loved the way Adora loved to inadvertently ruin romantic moments. She opened an eye to look at the blazing streak of orange across the sky. It was, admittedly, beautiful.  
“Don’t you want to make a wish?” Adora asked.   
Catra thought for a moment. “I wish you’d shut up and let me sleep on you.”  
Adora rolled her eyes. “Your wish is my command, Applesauce.” She snuggled in closer.   
A few seconds of bliss passed.   
“Hey, are shooting stars supposed to get bigger?”   
Catra’s eyes snapped open. “What?”   
The shooting star was indeed growing bigger and bigger. No- it was growing closer.   
The ball of fire hit the courtyard of the castle- just behind the pillar holding the Moonstone, and just below the balcony where Catra and Adora lay.  
“We should probably check that out, huh?” Adora said.  
“Uh, you think?”  
By the time they were down in the courtyard, guards had already surrounded… whatever it was that had fallen from the sky. Glimmer and Bow were there too, evidently having teleported as both were still in their pyjamas.   
“Everything ok down here?” Adora summoned her sword- everyone looked tense, the guards with spears at the ready, Glimmer having prepared a spell and Bow with an arrow already nocked in his bow. He probably slept with that thing.   
“Oh, hey guys!” Bow dropped his stance to wave. “You seeing this? We think it’s a spaceship.”   
“Which is why we’re all preparing to fight whatever’s inside, because we’re currently zero for two on things in spaceships wanting to kill us.” Glimmer chimed in, not taking her eyes off the wreckage.   
Catra gulped and took a step back. Adora didn’t blame her- everyone was still reeling from Prime’s attacks a few weeks ago, but Catra was especially badly affected, for obvious reasons- like the asterisk-shaped scar still visible on the nape of her neck, a constant reminder of the chip that robbed her of autonomy.   
Something clattered against the wall of the burning ship, and then there came a muffled shout- though nobody could tell what had been said.   
They all saw what happened next though, clear as day. Bright prismatic light streamed through the holes in the wreckage and the flame, then a panel of the wreckage came flying off, and out strode a young man- he was about an inch or two shorter than Adora, though the way he was hunched over clutching his side it was difficult to tell. His pink tunic was smeared with dirt and blood, including a halo of red near his middle, covered by his shaking hand. His shoulder-length blonde hair swayed listlessly in the wind. There was a sword- a beautifully constructed silver blade- in his weak grip, but dragged it behind him as if he simply couldn’t lift the thing, letting the point scrape a line on the courtyard’s marble tiles.   
He made it about two steps from the wreckage before collapsing.   
Bow rushed to his side, checking his pulse.  
“He’s still alive,” he said, rolling the poor kid over and checking his breathing. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. “Barely”  
“We need to get him to a spare room- Adora, can you carry him?” Glimmer waved away the guards pointing their spears at the unconscious boy.  
“Wait, we’re arresting him?” Adora frowned.   
“No, the other spare room. The one with the cushions.” Glimmer pinched the bridge of her nose. “We need a dungeon in this stupid castle, I swear-“   
“Oh, right.” Adora gingerly picked the stranger up. He was impossibly light, barely skin and bone. Even without She-Ra’s strength, it was barely an effort to carry him to a spare room and lay him gently on a bed cleared of cushions.   
“Is it just me that thinks this sword looks kind of familiar?” Catra had carried the stranger’s blade after he dropped it, and now ran her fingers along it’s hilt.   
Adora looked over. “I guess.” She lifted it out of Catra’s arms. It felt familiar too- the silver hilt gave it the same swing as her old sword that now lay broken in a safe in her room, and the bluish blade cut through the air in the exact same way. “You guys think it’s a piece of First One’s tech?”   
Bow held a hand out for the sword, examining it closely. “In my professional opinion… I’ve got no idea. I’m an archery guy, all swords look the same to me!”   
“We’re visiting Entrapta tomorrow, maybe she can help,” Glimmer said. “But right now, can we focus on the guy that’s bleeding everywhere? Please?”  
“Good plan.” Adora summoned her sword. “For the honour of Greyskull!”   
Prismatic light enveloped her, and when it cleared the elegant form of She-Ra was stood in her place. She extended a hand, feeling the familiar, burning ache in her bones as healing magic began to flow. The deep gash in the stranger’s side knitted back together, and his breathing grew deeper, less laboured.   
Adora pulled her hand away. “Well, hopefully he doesn’t die now.” She winced as she transformed back into her normal self. “I don’t think I can fully heal him. He’s seriously hurt, a few more hours and he’d be dead.”   
“Didn’t you bring me back from the dead?” Catra raised an eyebrow.   
“Yeah, but…” Adora blushed. “You’re Catra. I love you.” She kissed her on the cheek.   
Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it’s late, and we should probably leave the Spaceman to heal.” She held Bow’s hand, and together they teleported away, leaving only a faint outline of sparkles suspended in the air.   
“Yeah, sounds like a good idea. C’mon Adora,” Catra said, her tail brushing gently against Adora’s cheek, a lingering touch both of them had come to understand as a sign of all the unspoken words of love they wanted to share.   
Adora hesitated for a moment. “Yeah, I’m coming.”  
With that, they walked out hand-in-hand, and Brightmoon fell silent.

Far away, in the Crimson Wastes, a ship crashed into the sand. A tall figure in a blue cloak strode out, form obscured in the darkness of the desert night. It chuckled, a deep rattling noise that sounded like the clattering of dry bone and the wheeze of a dying man. And if an onlooker was there, maybe a bounty hunter or a bandit scouring the wastes for witless travellers, they might have sworn to their drinking buddies at a tavern nearby that they saw a skull in place of the figure’s head. They would have been laughed out of the place, of course, but the polished bone of the laughing figure’s face was no trick of the moonlight.


	3. Forgotten

Morning light was streaming through the window by the time the young man awoke. He didn’t recognise this place- or did he? He could barely remember anything. What was his name?  
Adam. That was it. Prince Adam. He crashed here after getting injured. How did he get injured?  
He sat up, and winced. His hand flew to his side, but there was no blood. Only a scar where the worst of his wounds had been- how long had he been out?  
Adam watched as someone walked in- a man in what appeared to be light armour, gold and white, yet cut off at the midriff. He had a bow and arrow slung over his shoulder. He also had nice abs, Adam noted.  
The archer had been carrying a plate of food, which he placed gently at Adam’s bedside. “You’re awake. It’s nice to finally properly meet you.” He held a hand out warmly. “The name’s Bow.”  
“Adam.” His voice caught strangely in his throat, as if he had swallowed sand. How long had it been since he used it last?  
“You holding up alright? Those were some nasty injuries you had, I honestly didn’t expect you to make it. No offence or anything,” Bow said, holding up a hand.  
“Me neither.” Adam’s memory stubbornly refused to let anything about how he got there free. “I got stabbed. I think.”  
Bow laughed. He had a nice laugh, as well. It felt as if he and Adam had been friends for years, such was the way it stoked warm feelings in Adam’s chest. “I figured. Can you eat anything?” He offered Adam what looked like a large dumpling. “My girlfriend made these, I’d say they were nice but I’m obviously biased.”  
Adam took a tentative bite. “They’re good. I can’t remember what good food tastes like, but I’m pretty sure they’re good.”  
Bow’s face fell. “How much do you remember?”  
“Uhhhhhhh...” Adam shut his eyes. “I remember I was... running from something. I had to get a message out to-“ He gasped. “My sister- I had a twin sister, we were separated as babies. I was supposed to find her on this planet. I was supposed to warn her about- the thing.” He scowled, annoyed at his lack of memories. “That’s about it. Everything else, I can’t remember.”  
Bow laid a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy. Can you remember your sister’s name?”  
“Adora.” Adam nodded. “It was definitely Adora.”  
Bow froze. “Uh, could you wait here for a second? I need to go check something.”  
He backed out of the room, giving Adam an encouraging thumbs up.  
The second Bow closed the door, he took off running down the hall. He burst into the meeting hall, where Adora, Catra and Glimmer were discussing the trip to Dryl, planned for later that day. Melog was also there, and true to their connection to Catra’s emotions, they were busy trying to sleep on top of Adora.  
“Uh, Bow? Are you ok?” Glimmer frowned. “Is something wrong?”  
“Yeah, did the spaceman die?” Catra said with a smirk.  
“Uh, no. He’s awake, his name’s Adam, and I think he’s Adora’s long-lost brother.” Bow panted.  
“What?!” Adora shook her head. “I think I’d know if I had a brother, Bow.”  
“Well, the blonde haired, blue eyed guy from another planet just told me he had a twin sister he lost as a baby, who happened to be called Adora, that he was supposed to find on Etheria,” Bow said. “Also, how would you know? You didn’t even know what species you were until a year ago.”  
“Yeah, that’s fair.” Adora nodded. Then she paused. “Wait a sec- I have a brother?!”  
“Yeah, apparently!” Bow threw his hands in the air.  
Adora slumped down in her chair. “I have a family! And I never knew!”  
“Should we go and tell him?” Bow looked nervous. “The fact that he has a sister is like, the only thing he even remembers.”  
“I don’t know! I’m honestly still processing this!” Adora put her head in her hands, staring down at the table. Catra threw an arm around her.  
“Is something going on? And if it is, sorry in advance because it’s probably my fault.” Adam stood in the doorway, holding himself up on the wall.  
The Best Friend Squad screamed in unison. The loud noise caused Melog to scarper out of a window.  
“Yeah, it’s kind of your fault.” Catra narrowed her eyes at Adam, a gesture that would’ve been far more intimidating if she hadn’t immediately jumped into Adora’s arms.  
“That’s just peachy, isn’t it?” Adam sighed. “Especially because I can’t remember any problems I could have caused. Just wonderful.”  
“Hey, it’s only kinda your fault,” Glimmer said. Bow gave a cheery thumbs-up in agreement.  
“Yeah, so you know how you were looking for your sister?” Adora ventured.  
“Yup!” Adam took a seat. “You guys have any information?”  
“Better.” Adora extended a hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, I guess.”  
“Nice to meet you too!” Adam said with a grin, taking Adora’s hand warmly.  
An awkward silence descended for the longest three seconds of their lives.  
“Wait.” Adam’s stomach dropped as he made the connection. “Adora?”  
“Hi.” She gave a smile.  
Tears began to well up in Adam’s eyes. “I never thought I’d ever actually meet you.”  
“Me neither. Mostly because I didn’t know you existed.”  
“That’s fair.” Adam wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “There’s something I need to tell you. I was supposed to warn you about something.”  
“Warn me about what?” Adora looked at the others with concern.  
“Can’t remember. It was definitely something, probably what stabbed me.” He shrugged. “I’ll remember eventually.”  
“Is it just me that thinks that seems important?” Glimmer said nervously. “Because that seems really important.”  
Catra snapped her fingers. “You know who probably knows about this weird First Ones stuff? Entrapta!”  
“That’s true,” Bow mused. “Hey, Adam, have you ever teleported before?”  
“Can’t say I have.”  
“You’re gonna love it, trust me,” said Catra. “Can you teleport five people, Sparkles?”  
“Of course I can!” Glimmer folded her arms. “Only to the foot of Dryl’s mountain, though.”  
“Is that good?” Adam asked.  
“There’s about a 2 mile walk up a mountain from there, so it depends if you like hikes.” Glimmer shrugged. “Gotta see the positive in things, y’know?”  
“Ok, just let me get my sword and I’ll be ready.” Adam reached towards his shoulder. “Where’s my sword? I think I had a sword.”  
“Oh, yeah. I was keeping that for you.” Adora pulled the silver sword off her back. Adam noticed how well it fit in her hand as she passed it to him.  
“Are you a sword fighter too?”  
Adora shared a knowing glance with the others. “Yeah, you could say that.”  
Adam took his sword, and gave it a practise swing. “The Sword of Power. That’s what it’s called.” He shook his head. “I remember that. Don’t know why.”  
He sheathed his sword. “Ok- I’m ready to go!”  
Glimmer took a deep breath. “Everyone hold on tight!”  
With that, all five of them joined hands and vanished into thin air, leaving only an outline of purple sparks suspended in thin air. Melog returned through the door, leaping onto the table and beginning to groom themselves in the sunlight.

As it turned out, Adam was not ready to go. When the group appeared amidst the purplish cliffs along the pass leading to Dryl, he immediately keeled over.  
“Told you you’d love it.” Catra smiled weakly, trying to hide her own discomfort at the ordeal.  
“It feels like I’ve been turned inside out,” Adam groaned.  
“You’ll get used to it,” Glimmer said with a grin. “C’mon, it’s this way to Dryl!”  
Adora gave Adam a hand up, watching the others race ahead. “So... that sword of yours. It looks kinda like my old one that I, uh, broke.”  
Adam took it off his back, examining the metalwork. “Must be a common style of blade. Again, not that I’d know.”  
Adora thought for a second. “Have you ever heard of She-Ra?”  
Adam’s eyes widened. A memory- one of poring over a computer screen, about archives of ancient history, sprang to mind. “I have. She was a kind of mythological hero, wasn’t she? I remember something about the line of succession getting cut off by the last one, who went mad with power or something.”  
“Mad with-“ Adora bit her tongue. “We have more data about She-Ra in artefacts from our people. The First Ones, we called them. Turns out, the First Ones were using Mara- She-Ra- as a way of draining this planet’s magical energy. She rebelled, and cut them all off.”  
“Huh. I never would have guessed.” Adam pursed his lips. “Or maybe I would. Amnesia’s a butt, huh?”  
“You said it.”  
They both chuckled. Adam noticed how similar their laughs were- both a little rough, yet hearty- warm, even. It was a good laugh, he decided.  
“What are you two laughing about?” Catra had fallen back, letting Bow and Glimmer forge on ahead, hand-in-hand.  
“Oh, nothing. We’re just trying to see how much Adam remembers.” Adora gave Catra a kiss on the forehead. Catra purred, nestling her head into the crook of Adora’s neck.  
All of a sudden, there was a distant explosion, followed by a deep rumble in the heart of the mountains.  
“That’s not good.” Bow had stopped upon hearing it.  
“I never would’ve guessed,” Catra snapped back.  
Rocks began to fall from the clifftops above. A huge boulder- it must have been the size of a small house- hurtled straight towards them, too fast to react.  
“That’s really not good!” Adora summoned her sword, knowing She-Ra was their only hope.  
But Adam was faster. He drew his sword out of pure instinct, raised it to the sky, and roared-  
“By the power of Greyskull!”  
In barely a blink, the rocks shattered. Dust rained from above in a great cloud, enveloping the squad.  
And as the cloud cleared, a silhouette began to take shape, standing in Adam’s place.


	4. You know the Dryl

Prismatic light cleaved through the dust, as the form of a man became visible, with his sword held aloft in Adam’s place. He must have been eight feet tall, with muscles like iron cables and a spiderweb of scars crisscrossing his bare chest. The armour he did wear, on his shoulders and legs, were bulky pieces of shining white and gold plate amour, though none of it was as bright as his hair, that seemed like spun gold flowing to his waist. Everything- from his stature to his careful movements to his braided golden beard- gave off a striking air of royalty, of prestige, of power.  
“Ah. I forgot I could do that.” The man- Adam, it was still Adam under there- sheathed his sword. “I am He-Man.”   
Everyone was speechless.   
“There’s two of them.” Glimmer was first to break the silence. “Why are there two of them?!”   
“Two of who?” Adam dropped back into a slouch, looking much more like his usual self despite the transformation.   
“Oh yeah, you know how I was telling you about She-Ra?” Adora summoned her blade. “For the Honour of Greyskull!”   
Blinding light enveloped her, revealing She-Ra in all her glory.   
Adam blinked. “You didn’t think this was something you should have mentioned?”   
“Well, I didn’t think it was that important!” Adora spluttered.  
“My long-lost twin sister is part of a line of heroes of legend that haven’t existed for a thousand years. How is that not important?!”   
“It’s less important than you also being able to turn into freaking male She-Ra, or whatever that is!”  
“I’m called He-Man, actually-“  
Catra groaned. “Both of you, shut up. All the shininess is giving me a headache.” She glared at the bickering siblings, who both sheepishly assumed their regular forms. “This is the kind of thing we need Entrapta to explain. Adora, stop being jealous because someone else can also turn into a stupidly tall sword person with cool hair. Adam, just... stop. Put a shirt on. I don’t care.”   
With a wave of her hand, Catra strode off down the path towards Dryl.   
“I’m not jealous, you’re jealous,” Adora muttered. “And besides, She-Ra’s hair is way cooler.”  
They walked for another few minutes in silence. Adam tried to create conversation, but the words died in his throat as he desperately scrambled for a topic that wasn’t related to the thousands of as-of-yet unanswerable questions on everyone’s minds.   
“So... what do you think caused that explosion earlier?”, he finally ventured.  
“I’d say Entrapta,” Bow said. “I just hope it was a good explosion.”   
“Is there such thing as a good explosion?”   
“Pfft, our entire battle strategy is pretty much good explosions,” Glimmer replied.   
“It’s a miracle the Horde didn’t beat you sooner, honestly.” Catra shrugged. “Probably because until I came along, Hordak’s strategy was also good explosions.”  
“Wait, did you say Horde? As in, Horde Pri-“  
“I’m going to stop you right there. We don’t say that name.” Glimmer held up a hand.   
“Also yes, I did say Horde.” Catra shuddered. “Not his Horde though. It was created by one of his clones that was abandoned. Poor guy tried to conquer the planet to impress his big brother, but then he got a girlfriend and threw the evil piece of garbage off his own spaceship.” She shrugged. “That’s basically what happened, anyway.”  
Adora snorted. “Hordak? ‘Poor guy?’ That’s something I never thought I’d hear. Especially not from you, of all people.”   
“You’re saying that like I’m not also someone that tried to conquer the planet to impress an abusive authority figure and also because I was angry that the woman I loved abandoned me.” Catra elbowed Adora affectionately.  
“Wait, you even loved me back then?” Adora blushed.   
“Uh, duh. What part of ‘I love you, I always have,’ did you not get, idiot?” Catra kissed Adora on the cheek.  
“It’s a long story,” Bow whispered to a very confused Adam.   
“I think Dryl’s just around this corner, guys!” Glimmer was a few paces ahead- for someone so short, she didn’t half walk fast, Adam thought.   
As the rest of the group followed Glimmer around the corner, Dryl came into view- though, it had changed substantially from the last time they had seen it.   
The purple brick was the same, but atop it huge metal buildings had been erected- made from the demolished scrap of the Fright Zone, by the look of it, but painted in every possible colour of paint and with a myriad of designs- the whole place looked like a children’s playground. Robots buzzed around the entire city, like usual, but so did something else- tall, grey-skinned beings in clothing as vibrant as their surroundings.  
“Are they... clones?” Bow frowned.   
As they got closer, they noticed that the beings were indeed clones that had once served in Prime’s army. The two closest- a pair of guards by the city gate- noticed them, and waved the group over.   
The first had a mostly yellow colour scheme, each item perfectly corresponding and deliberately chosen- he wore a long raincoat, an alternating yellow and black striped t-shirt and black jeans, accessorised with heavy black makeup around his eyes and a tastefully jaunty hat to match the coat.  
The second was wearing a She-Ra themed onesie.   
“Welcome, fellow people! Glory be to- uh- no, scratch that.” The first clone shook his head and started over. “Hello, travellers! What brings you to Dryl?” He smiled contently, happy with his revised greeting.   
“We’re here on invitation from Entrapta.” Glimmer extended a hand. “I’m Queen Glimmer, this is Bow, Catra, Adora and Adam.”   
“Oh, as in the heroes of the rebellion, the Best Friend Squad?” The second clone shook Glimmer’s hand warmly, showing off a set of sky-blue fangs in a toothy grin. “It’s an honour to meet you! My name is Alexander, and my companion goes by Jacob.”   
Jacob gave a polite wave. “We can take you to Princess Entrapta’s sanctum right away! Follow me, exhalted brothers of Hor- I need to stop doing that, honestly.” He hung his head, and Alexander patted him on the back.   
“This way!” Jacob composed himself, and gestured for the others to follow him.   
Upon entering Dryl, it quickly became clear how much had changed- the place was bustling with clones, all in various wild fashions, all in gloriously vibrant colours. Robots still buzzed around, cleaning, serving food, steering people around traps- the usual, but they were significantly different to Entrapta’s regular designs; they were covered in smooth, pristine white carapaces, with little blinking green lights dotted about their surfaces. They were repurposed Prime bots.   
Despite that, and the fact that every citizen was a clone of him, the entire place, in its vibrant colour and its amicable atmosphere, felt like the total opposite of Prime’s cold, ruthless empire.  
“This is... different.” Adora said. “I like it!”   
“Entrapta has given us a place to stay, and has taught us to embrace our imperfections. As citizens of Dryl, we couldn’t be happier to welcome you to our city!” Alexander replied. A crowd of clones cheered at his words.   
“It‘s an honour.” Glimmer gave a gracious bow.   
Alexander gasped. “Did you see that?” He giggled. “Queen Glimmer bowed to me!”   
“Forgive my companion. He’s a big fan of all of your work,” Jacob explained. “Except yours.” He gestured to Adam. “I have no idea who you are.”  
“Me neither, buddy. Me neither.” Adam sighed.   
“So! If you’d come with me, it’s this way for the tour!”   
“Wait, tour? Nobody said anything about a tour-“ Glimmer started, but she was quickly drowned out by a mob of- admittedly, rather endearing- cheering clones.   
“Way to go, Sparkles.” Catra growled.   
“Eh, I don’t mind. I think it’s cool that they’re making lives for themselves, maybe we should take a look around.” Bow shook hands with a clone in a bright pink top hat.   
“Yeah, I guess it’s cool. But do we really have time for this?” She dodged a clone that tried to throw a feather boa around her neck with a hiss.   
Adora put a gentle arm around Catra’s waist. “C’mon, lighten up! What’s the worst that could happen?”   
Catra gave her a light shove. “What, do you want a list?”   
“Catra’s right.” Adam stared mournfully into the distance, mind clearly elsewhere. “Transforming into He-Man, it knocked some memories loose. If they mean what I think they mean... we’re in danger. Everyone here is.”   
“The warning?” Bow unconsciously reached for Glimmer’s hand.   
“I think so.” Adam waved to Alexander and Jacob. “Hey, we’d love a tour another day- but not now. We need to find Entrapta. Urgently.”   
“Well, we’d be happy to oblige.” Jacob ushered a path through the crowd. “The sanctum is just this way!”   
As they followed Alexander and Jacob through Dryl, it started to look more familiar. Less clones bustled around, and the bright colours gave way to the familiar purple stone. Finally, they reached a heavy set of double doors. Jacob knocked on the wall beside it, causing a hatch to open up on the opposite wall.   
“That doesn’t seem practical,” Adam muttered.   
“The castle wasn’t really built with visitors in mind,” Bow replied. “It’s a masterpiece of engineering, yes, but practical? Not really.”   
After what seemed like a labyrinth of strange doors and secret hatches, they finally arrived at what Jacob assured them were real doors.   
“Unfortunately, we’ll have to take our leave. Hordak’s been a little cranky recently, and I don’t want to get shouted at.” Alexander’s ears drooped. “It makes me feel bad.”  
The two clones waved goodbye, before disappearing into a hatch in the wall.   
“Well, here we are. Adam, you might want to prepare yourself.” Glimmer knocked gently on the door.   
“Prepare myself for what, exactly?” Adam took a step back, as the doors creaked open.   
The sanctum was pitch-dark. In the centre of the room, there stood a blue-tinted hologram of a young man, sword drawn, clutching at a stab wound to his chest.  
It was Adam.   
“But I won’t die today! Come at me, Skele-“   
The hologram froze mid-speech. The light flicked on.  
“I just don’t get it! Who is this guy?” Entrapta threw her hands in the air. Hordak and Wrong Hordak sat behind her- the former was poring over gibberish code, while the latter was snacking on tiny cupcakes.  
“Oh, hi guys!“ Entrapta waved them over. “Adora, can you help us translate this code? Also, do you know who-“   
She froze. “YOU.” Within a second, she was in Adam’s face, grabbing his shirt with her hair. “Can you answer some questions for me? I have so many questions!” She pulled out a notepad, which unfurled into a list that hit the floor with a dense-sounding thud.   
“Uh, hey. My name’s-“  
“Prince Adam, I know. First question- where’s Eternia? Twelve-point co-ordinates, please”.  
“Eternia...” Adam gently shook Entrapta off, and approached the hologram. He stared into his own translucent blue face, and felt his eyes prick with the same tears. “I was about to say something. In this message, I mean. Someone’s name.”  
“That was question 52, actually. Who’s Skeletor?” 

Adam gasped as the floodgates of memory opened wide. He saw the wall of a beautiful city- one he swore to protect- burst open. He saw the undead rise, he saw mercenaries cut down his people, and he saw the empty eye sockets of a skeleton in a blue cloak, wielding magic like nothing he had seen before. He-Man wasn’t enough. He saw his family- his parents- run, his father’s white beard flecked with blood and dust, his mother’s jewellery shattering on the cobbles as she tripped, as the blue-cloaked figure took her life with a column of flame, leaving nothing but ash and molten metal for his army to trample. He heard himself screaming until his throat was hoarse for his father to run. He felt the cold steel of a blade rip through his chest as He-Man’s strength faltered, making his last stand over his mother’s ashes. And he remembered giving the message that should have been his last words, in the burnt-out barracks he used to call home, that he had barricaded himself in merely to apologise. Apologising for not being strong enough. For letting his home fall.   
The memories faded, leaving only the image of a laughing skull. The face of the thing that annihilated everything he used to hold dear. The thing that killed his mother.   
Skeletor.   
As Adam sank to his knees, he broke down into ugly, gulping sobs. Mourning the loss of those only he remembered. And reliving in bloody detail the greatest failure of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope you all appreciate this new chapter. This is pretty much a sign for the fic to come- a dumb pun and some comic relief, coupled with gratuitous angst and a bit of my own worldbuilding because who’s going to stop me, Dreamworks?  
> Stay tuned for whenever the hell I write the next chapter! Bye!   
> P.S yeah my He-Man is kinda inspired by Thor because honestly who doesn’t like Thor


	5. King Crimson

“Ugh, you won’t believe the day I’ve had.”   
It was a late night in the tavern. It seemed every scoundrel and rogue in the Crimson Wastes- included the land’s self-proclaimed Princess, Huntara- were present, packed from wall to bone-studded wall, drinking in near-total silence. All except one.  
“Not one for small talk?” Double Trouble sprawled out on the bar, looking the stoic, goatlike bartender in the eyes. “Pity. The stories I could tell you, about-“   
“Order a drink and shut up, or I’ll punch you.” The bartender growled.   
Double Trouble shrugged. “Fair. I’ll have one of those Plumerian Specials, y’know the sort.”  
“Hmph. I’ll never forgive Huntara for introducing that flowery filth,” the bartender said with a sigh.  
“Watch your mouth.” Huntara herself appeared at the bar- for a seven-foot woman strapped with muscle, she could move seriously quietly. “And I’ll have one of the same.”   
“Ah, if it isn’t the famous Princess of the Wastes! A pleasure.” Double Trouble gave a mock bow.  
“Who are you?” Huntara sat at the other end of the bar, watching her drink be made.  
“Harsh. I’ll have you know I’m in personal cahoots with the Horde!” They smirked, watching for Huntara’s reaction.  
“Cute. I’m in personal cahoots with the women that brought the Horde down. And besides,” she said in a much lower voice, “didn’t you betray Catra?   
Double Trouble clenched their jaw. “No, that wasn’t me. Why would I be so stupid to betray the woman that half the Crimson Wastes and also She-Ra are now loyal to, who also conquered most of the world?”   
“Is that why you ran off and hid underwater?” Huntara held eye contact for a second too long, before sitting back. “Eh, can’t blame you. Lotta money in Brightmoon’s coffers. Definitely enough to cover for our drinks.”   
Double Trouble scowled. “Oh, that’s low, darling. Real low.”   
“Are either of you going to drink these?” The bartender held a pair of cocktails- colourful, fruity things that fit in with the Crimson Wastes the same way a raincloud, a non-poisonous flower or basic hospitality would.   
Both bandits took their drinks in silence.   
“Must say, it’s a good drink.” Double Trouble tossed the bartender a coin. “Strong, as well. Wouldn’t expect it, especially not from Plumeria.”   
“That’s Princess Perfuma alright. Strong. Defys expectations.” Huntara stared off into the distance.   
Double Trouble grinned. “Doesn’t take an expert at reading people- which, by the way, I am- to realise someone’s got a crush.”   
“Who is currently dating another woman.” Huntara clenched her fist. “So you’d better shut up about it, or else I’ll knock your teeth in.”   
“Try me, I have a healing factor.” Double Trouble checked their nails. “Shapeshifter. Comes with the territory.”   
All of a sudden, the door- more of a leather curtain, really- flew open. A blue-cloaked figure strode in, face and form entirely obscured. However, it had a strange power to it- not quite an air of royalty and magic, like that of a Princess, but something similar. Something darker.   
It sat between Double Trouble and Huntara- totally silent, save for the whistle of wind through the tavern’s eroding walls.  
“Really, going to sit right between our conversation? Rude.” Double Trouble scoffed.   
The figure remained silent.  
“What, not one for small talk? You’ll fit in with the rest of these plebeians, mark my words.” They took a long sip of their drink. “Anyway, what brings you here? We don’t get many newcomers.”   
The figure still didn’t respond.   
“Nobody’s ever here for no reason. And if you’re looking for bounty hunters, you’ve come to the right place.” They winked.   
“You talk a lot.” The stranger finally spoke, in a low voice that had a strange rattling quality to it.   
Double Trouble blinked. “Excuse me?”   
“That’s not a bad thing. People that talk a lot are easy to get information out of.” The stranger turned to Double Trouble, looking them dead in the eyes.  
Well, almost. For gazing back at Double Trouble were the empty sockets of a bleached white skull.   
They flinched in surprise. “What the-“   
“It’s a very long story.” The stranger waved a gloved hand dismissively. “You may call me Skeletor.”  
“It’s a pleasure.” Double Trouble extended a hand. “Double Trouble. Actor. Shapeshifter. Bounty hunter. At your service, for a price.”   
“I’m looking for someone.” Skeletor ignored their offer of a handshake. “Blonde. Bad hair. Stupid. Blue eyes. Can turn into an eight-foot tall supersoldier. You’d know if you met him.”   
The tavern fell silent.   
“I’m sorry, him?” Huntara finally spoke up.   
“Unless I’ve been misgendering my arch nemesis for 19 years, yes. Why do you ask?” Skeletor turned to Huntara. Despite him being a head shorter than her, she couldn’t help but feel intimidated- not that she showed it outwardly. Perhaps it was the subtle menace behind every word he spoke, perhaps it was the unsettling tilt of his head as he waited for an answer. Or perhaps it was the skull face.   
“Because, aside from the pronouns, you just described She-Ra. The woman that killed Horde Prime. And if you’re an enemy of her, you’re an enemy of the strongest person in the wastes.” She cracked her knuckles. “Me.”   
Skeletor was unreadable. He waited a heartbeat or two, before snapping his fingers. “This... She-Ra. What’s her real name?”  
Double Trouble chuckled. “That’s information you have to pay for, darling.”  
Skeletor’s fingers twitched, causing white-hot fire to swirl around his hands and flare into life in the pits of his eye sockets. “Let me rephrase that. Her name. Give it to me.”   
“I-it’s Adora. Her name is Adora. Please don’t hurt me, I’m very flammable.” Double Trouble shuffled tentatively back in their barstool.   
The fire surrounding Skeletor fizzled out.  
He began to laugh, a guttural, grating noise that sounded much more like a death rattle than anything jovial.  
“Is that funny to you?” Huntara flicked her wrist, bringing her blade to her hand.  
“Yes, yes it is.” Skeletor wheezed. “Because you just solved my home planet’s biggest urban legend. The mystery of the lost princess.”   
Double Trouble blinked. “Come again?”   
“Ok, ok. So, back home, there was a royal family. The prince- his name was Adam, or He-Man, he’s the one I’m hunting. But there was a fable of another- a twin sister, who vanished without a trace just a few weeks after she was born. Nobody knew how it happened. I always had my own suspicions, but as I wiped out almost every member of their species, I guessed there was no way of figuring out what really happened. Until today.”   
Huntara lowered her blade. “So you’re not here to kill Adora?”   
“Oh no, I’m absolutely going to kill her.” Skeletor shrugged. “I’m on a mission to wipe out every last member of He-Man’s species. That includes his sister, doesn’t it?”   
The tavern fell silent. Everyone turned around. Some reached for their weapons, while most simply watched for Huntara’s reaction.  
She sneered. “You won’t get the chance.”   
She lunged, grabbing Skeletor by the neck. The crowd cheered, thrilled to see a fight.   
She tossed him against the wall, causing him to bounce off unceremoniously.   
“Ow. I almost felt that.” He stood, and flung out a hand.   
Bolts of purple lightning shot from his fingers, hitting Huntara square in the chest, arcing over her entire body in waves of cracking energy. She screamed in agony, sinking to one knee. He strode over, raised his hand, and summoned a fireball in his palm.   
“But it’s a wasted effort. Now BURN.” He slammed the fireball into Huntara’s face, launching her backwards through the wall and out into the wastes, out of sight.   
“Does anyone else want to defend my enemies,” Skeletor addressed the stunned crowd, “or will you name your price and join me in hunting them?”   
‘Name your price’. The magic words. The assembled bounty hunters cheered, and some began to chant Skeletor’s name.  
Double Trouble sidled up to him. “Well, if you put it like that, I’m sure you could have use for a shapeshifter. Especially one of my talents.” They extended a hand to Skeletor. “What about it?”   
“Consider it a deal, my dear lizard.” This time, Skeletor shook Double Trouble’s hand with an uncomfortably strong grip.   
He turned to the rest of the bounty hunters. “We will need every one of you to bring down He-Man and She-Ra. And when you do, you’ll be compensated for life.”   
They erupted into raucous applause, as they marched after Skeletor into the night. There must have been fifty or so, all various levels of drunk, stamping their feet as they paraded off after their new king- the wasteland’s new champion.  
The only one that stayed was the bartender. She watched them leave with narrowed eyes.   
Suddenly, she heard growling near the hole in the wall. Huntara loomed, clutching her face with one hand and her blade in another, looking absolutely livid. She breathed through gritted fangs, exposed eye wide with fury.   
“Where is that coward?!” She scoured the now-empty bar.   
“Gone. He’s the new strongest in the wastes now that he’s beaten you, right?” The bartender reached under the bar, and pulled out a roll of bandages. “Here. If it’s any consolation, I think using magic’s cheating.”   
Huntara grunted as she took her hand away from her face. There was a nasty burn- deep burgundy against her lilac skin- covering a good portion of it, including her right eye that now remained swollen shut. She wrapped her wounds, wincing as the bandages pressed against her skin.   
“I’ve got a question.” She turned to the bartender. “Why didn’t you go with him?”   
The bartender shrugged. “Some people can’t be bought. And like I said, magic’s cheating.” She patted Huntara on the shoulder. “My name’s Lucy, by the way.”   
Huntara smiled. “Nice to see some people have a little respect. You wanna ditch this place? I’ve got to warn Adora, and it’s a long walk to Brightmoon. A little company never hurt.”   
Lucy thought for a moment. “Don’t try and rob me, and I’m in.” She slung a bag of rations onto her shoulder from under the bar. “I’ve wanted to ditch this place for a while, anyway.”   
The two women shook hands, then strode out of the door- and, on Huntara’s direction, north, into the gathering night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoyed the introduction of this story’s big bad bastard- Skeletor, the type of dramatic undead thot that deserves a Jojo reference for his introduction chapter.  
>  In case you can’t tell, I love Huntara and Double Trouble, so I hope to give them decent roles in this story, along with Lucy who technically isn’t an OC because I’m imagining her to be the bartender Huntara flirts with in her introduction episode, because this giant purple lesbian deserves an equally buff girlfriend.  
>  Also, a question for everyone reading- who’s your favourite underrated character in She-Ra that you wished got more screen time? (No shut up it’s not because I want ideas for who to write more about)   
> See yall next week! Bye!


	6. Hey Mom, Dead Mom, I need a little help here

If Entrapta was asked what meeting a proper, real First One would be like, she might have said she’d be in awe of someone from such a technologically advanced civilisation. She might have said she’d be falling over herself to run test after test, ask question after question.  
She definitely wouldn’t have said she’d be awkwardly watching said First One burst into tears on her sanctum floor.  
“Did I say something wrong?”, she whispered to Adora.  
Adora frowned. “Hey, Adam? What’s the matter?”  
Adam wiped his eyes on his sleeve, and shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “I remember... everything. My home. My- our people. Our parents.”  
“Am I allowed to take notes?” Entrapta sat cross-legged on the sanctum floor, recording device at the ready.  
“Yeah, sure.” Adam sighed. “I remember that I was supposed to be a protector. A warrior. I was raised from a young age to fight, to take up the mantle of He-Man, like countless others before me. I fought the Galactic Horde, I fought bandit warlords, and...” He squeezes his eyes shut. “I fought Skeletor. A violent, unhinged sorcerer with a vendetta against He-Man. And a few weeks ago, he started to gain more power. He launched an attack on our kingdom. And he killed everyone.” Tears began to trickle down Adam’s cheeks again. “I watched our mother die in front of me.”  
“What?” Adora felt her stomach sink into her boots. She had often fantasised about having a real mother. One like Angella- one that cared about her. They were always fleeting daydreams, but to hear that those dreams could have been reality, yet were ripped from her without her even knowing... it was crushing.  
Adam nodded, trying to compose himself. “I’m sorry. I’ve dragged you all into my war- you don’t deserve this.”  
Glimmer put a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “You don’t need to apologise. You’re our friend, after all. And besides, we have a little experience fighting evil galactic superpowers.”  
“Friend?” Adam’s eyes pricked with tears again.  
Bow smiled. “Yeah, buddy. Don’t tell me you’ve never had friends before.”  
Adam didn’t answer.  
“So, what now?” Catra was sat further back, holding Adora’s hand. “Skeletor’s still out there, right? And if he‘s any kind of threat to Adora, then we want him dead.” She shuffled closer to Adora, scowling at Adam.  
Adam nodded sagely. “Be my guest. Me and the He-mans before me have been trying to put him down for five hundred years. See, he’s immortal. Undead. Nothing short of destroying all magic in the universe could stop him permanently.”  
The room dwelled on that fact for a melancholy, silent second.  
“Well,” Entrapta finally piped up, “you’ve answered twelve of my questions, and you’ve raised twenty-three more. And seeing as you’re a First One, you and Adora can help me with this code!”  
“I don’t think this is really the best-“ Adora began.  
“I’d be honoured!” Adam said brightly, visibly perking up at an opportunity to be useful.  
“By the way, you don’t suppose I can take a look at that sword of yours? It looks very advanced.” Entrapta examined the blade. “The secrets this piece of tech’s gotta hold!”  
“Sure, sure. I’m just as curious as you are, to be honest.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I ever got told how it works.”  
Entrapta yoinked it off his back with glee.  
He walked over to the array of computer screens, trying to appear upbeat. Hordak spotted him approaching and muttered something unpleasant.  
Adam took a seat, and gave Wrong Hordak a wave. “Alright, what are we working with?” He examined a screen filled with lines upon lines of code- code he recognised as the language of his people.  
Adora watched Hordak begrudgingly walk Adam through the project he and Entrapta had been working on. She couldn’t bring herself to get up and join them.  
“Hey, Adora?” Catra shuffled to be sat across from her. “What’s wrong?”  
They held hands for a moment before Adora could find the strength to talk.  
“It’s nothing. It’s just... a few hours ago, I didn’t know I had a family. Then I knew I didn’t just have a family, but an entire kingdom of people like me.” She glanced over at Adam as she said this, who was attempting to make small talk with Hordak to no avail. “And now I know that I actually don’t have a family, because they all died- what, yesterday? And there’s a guy that’s out to kill us all, and I honestly don’t know what to feel, because-“ She caught Catra’s gaze, composing herself in those two-colour eyes. “I thought we were done fighting, we were done losing people and I could finally have a normal life. With you.”  
Catra pulled Adora in, and kissed her, like it was the last time they would ever touch- maybe that was because both of them feared that that would be the case. “We are done losing people, and I’m not losing you, Adora. I made a promise, didn’t I?” 

Meanwhile, Bow and Glimmer got up to explore the sanctum.  
“Gotta say, this place is looking great,” Bow said. “I guess Entrapta’s been busy.”  
“I have!” Entrapta appeared behind them. “I’ve even learned a bit of First One language, even if Hordak’s picked it up a lot faster.”  
She pulled out a device with an unintelligible mess on the screen, attached to the Sword of Power.  
“Of course, I’ve still got a lot to learn. That’s why I’m downloading a copy of this code- especially now the First Ones are- y’know, actually dead now, it’s vital we save this data!”  
Glimmer and Bow glanced nervously at each other.  
“Hey, Entrapta? Maybe you shouldn’t bring that up around Adora and Adam,” Glimmer said. “It’s gotta be hard on both of them, knowing that they’re the last of their people alive.”  
Entrapta went blank.  
Bow shut his eyes as he thought of an analogy. “It’d be like... if you couldn’t make tech anymore, then the robots left over would be upset, because they know that soon there won’t be any more of them.”  
“Aww, poor abandoned robots.” Entrapta slumped over in dismay. “I’m going to go offer them tiny cupcakes. That’s what would make me feel better.”  
With that, she sprinted off to ask Wrong Hordak to make more tiny food.  
“Well, I think I got through to her,” Bow mumbled, perplexed.  
Glimmer took Bow’s hand. “I just hope this Skeletor guy isn’t anything like Shadow Weaver. That power she had, using dark magic, I only got to experience a fraction of it; even then it was terrifying. And if he’s immortal...“  
“He’s had longer to master it.” Bow gritted his teeth. “Hey- we beat the Horde. We beat Prime. And we’ll beat this guy, too.”  
“Uh, yeah- with She-Ra doing all the work. I can’t put that pressure on Adora, not again!” Glimmer hissed.  
“It was with the power of all the Princesses. Including you.” Bow kissed Glimmer softly on the forehead. “This guy doesn’t stand a chance.”  
She sighed. “I seriously hope you’re right.” 

Over by the screens, Adam was diligently translating the code that Hordak scanned through. He had to admit, even knowing the language of the First Ones, he didn’t know the first thing about code. He was honestly just happy to be there.  
“So, you’re Hordak, right?” Adam looked up from his translations.  
“Yes. Who told you?” Hordak didn’t move from his position at the work bench.  
Adam waved a hand. “Heard the name thrown around, and assumed that, out of the guy with the robot armour and the guy holding a plate of tiny cupcakes, you were the one that conquered the world.”  
A tiny smile graced Hordak’s face. “My reputation precedes me, I suppose.”  
“It’s all good things, don’t worry.” Adam gave Hordak a grin in return. “Enjoying life?”  
“You don’t need to act like this. I can tell you aren’t really this happy.” Hordak finally looked away from the tech. “Dryl’s new population have taught me a lot about emotions. You can’t hide them, for a start.”  
Adam’s face fell. “Is it that obvious?”  
“It’s obvious that you went from crying on the floor to perfectly fine in a few seconds.”  
“Touché.” Adam rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s a habit. I was constantly in the public eye, back at home, what with being the prince, and a legendary hero or whatever. I guess I got good at hiding that kind of thing for the public.”  
Hordak awkwardly patted Adam on the shoulder, unsure quite what to say.  
Suddenly, Entrapta dropped from a vent in the ceiling, holding a tray of cupcakes.  
“Hey, Wrong Hordak made these for you so you don’t feel like an abandoned robot- why are you screaming?”  
Adam had, in fact, leapt into Hordak’s arms with a scream upon Entrapta’s arrival.  
Hordak dropped him on the floor with a disgruntled huff.  
“Everyone ok?” Adora stood and hurried over to the commotion.  
“Everything is probably fine! Cupcake?” Entrapta offered the tray.  
Adora took one. It was tiny, of course- she doubted Wrong Hordak knew how to make food any bigger, what with Entrapta teaching him how to cook. But either way, it was delicious- warm, light and comfortingly sweet.  
Adam picked himself up and selected a cupcake, then nibbled at the edge of it. He gave a satisfied nod. “Yum.”  
“Hey, Catra? Want a cake?” Adora turned to her girlfriend.  
Catra didn’t react at first. She seemed distracted, staring off into the middle distance, ears twitching rhythmically. She shook her head. “Sorry, what?”  
Adora frowned. “You ok?”  
“It’s nothing, I just thought I could hear something weird.”  
Adam froze. “What kind of weird?”  
Catra hesitated. “Something on fire.” She shrugged. “Like I said, probably nothing.”  
Adora tossed her a cupcake, which she gladly ate before giving Adora a kiss on the cheek.  
“Hey, can I have my sword back?” Adam whispered to Entrapta, so as to not disturb Adora and Catra’s moment of happiness. “For safe keeping.”  
“Yeah, ok. I think the code’s all copied over, anyway.” Entrapta replied. “Weird question, but did you ever have a steed?”  
Adam frowned. “Like a horse, or...”  
Entrapta scratched her head. “The actual translation doesn’t specify. It’s just a steed, yknow?”  
“Also you can’t have a horse. I already have a horse, and he’s awesome.” Adora folded her arms.  
“Uh, can we not invoke Swiftwind? I feel like he knows if we’re talking about him.” Bow called over from the other side of the room. “Nothing against him, we love the guy, he’s just... a lot.”  
Catra nodded. “I still remember the first time we did loop-de-loops.” She looked queasy at the memory.  
“I told you to hold on, didn’t I?” Adora rolled her eyes. “And anyway, Glimmer caught you, so you were fine.”  
“Physically, yes. Mentally, I’m still recovering from watching all nine lives flash before my eyes.” Catra scowled.  
Adam blinked. “‘Horse’ and ‘Loop-de-loops’ are not things I thought could go together in a sentence.”  
“First time for everything,” Adora said with a bright smile.

Catra frowned. “Ok, guys, I’m definitely hearing a weird noise. Like fire, and lightning and-“  
A deafening explosion sounded in the distance, shaking the sanctum to it’s core. The doors flew open as Wrong Hordak came crashing through them.  
“Dryl’s under attack! They’ve breached the wall!” He wheezed, putting his hands on his knees as he struggled to get his breath back..  
“What do you mean, under attack?” Glimmer was first to reach him, teleporting to the winded clone.  
“I don’t know! The city walls are on fire! People are attacking the citizens!”, Wrong Hordak cried.  
Indeed, now the door was open, everyone could see the smoke pour in through the windows and flood the sanctum at a horrifying rate.  
Adam rushed to a window, already feeling sick to his stomach- not because of the smoke, but because of what he dreaded to see, marching through the cavernous hole in Dryl’s outer wall.  
A figure in a shapeless blue cloak, with fire encircling his gloved hands, dragging a clone in a yellow raincoat by the hair, watching his army of bandits ransack the city.  
And Adam could have sworn he saw the empty eye sockets of the sorcerer’s skull face meet his own, halfway across the kingdom.  
Skeletor had found them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey- sorry this chapter isn’t particularly eventful, but I wanted to write some character stuff- y’know, angst and Catradora and all that good stuff. The next one’s gonna be a doozy, although it’s my birthday next week so it could take a bit longer than normal to come out- stay tuned, nonetheless!   
> See ya!


	7. Old Gods

“Are you sure this is it?” Skeletor stood at the helm of his army, looking down a cliffside path at a colourful city, dotted with purple stone, and bustling with robots and tall, pale creatures- a city he had been told was the kingdom of Dryl.   
“Positive.” Double Trouble examined their nails. “Our tracker shmucks have picked up three powerful magical signatures over here. Worst case scenario, it’s three of She-Ra’s Princess friends. Best case scenario... I’m getting paid.”   
Skeletor grunted. “Those things over there. Are they... Prime clones? In stupid outfits?”   
“I think so. Why, scared?” Double Trouble smirked.   
Skeletor’s eyes crackled with sparks of white-hot flame. “Listen here, my dear lizard. I’m three thousand years old. I knew Horde Prime when the little snot was barely a planetary threat. If you think any amount of tech can stand up to my power, then clearly I’m giving you mortals far too much credit.”  
“Ok, I was joking, sheesh.” Double Trouble rolled their eyes. “You’re so boring.”  
“Yes, well, at least I’m not as bad as Prime.” Skeletor said with a shrug.  
Double Trouble gave a noncommittal “hmm.” They assured themself that they didn’t really care, but something told them that Skeletor’s statement wasn’t all truthful.   
Their train of thought was derailed as the army reached Dryl’s gates.   
A clone in a teal onesie, dotted with tiny pictures of She-Ra, waved to them. “Greetings, travellers! Welcome to the kingdom of Dryl- what brings you here?”   
Skeletor didn’t speak for a second. He seemed... confused.  
“Is this really Horde Prime’s fate? To have his clones greet invaders at city gates, wearing outfits nobody should be seen dead in? I’d have expected a more dignified end, honestly.”   
The first clone’s friend, another clone in a gaudy yellow raincoat, frowned. “I’m sorry, invaders?”  
He was cut off by the other guard, who took a bold step towards Skeletor. “This outfit commemorates the greatest warrior on this planet, She-Ra! How dare you insult-“  
He was cut short by Skeletor backhanding him off the edge of the nearby ravine.   
“Alexander!” The second clone screamed, trying to scramble away from Skeletor, to no avail- the sorcerer grabbed him by the hair, pulling him in close.   
“I’m only going to ask this once. Is She-Ra here?”   
The clone whimpered. “She’s in the castle. She went in with four of her friends, one of them was a Princess. Please don’t kill me.”   
Skeletor chuckled, igniting his palm with white-hot fire. “Oh, I won’t kill you. But I’ll kill everyone in this city if it means wiping out my enemies. Mark my words.”   
With that, he extended his hand and blasted apart the wall. Bandits streamed in through the hole, weapons drawn and roaring their guttural battle cries. The colourful buildings had already caught on fire from the explosion causing a mass panic to erupt among the clones.   
Skeletor dragged the guard behind him, scouring the castle windows for a streak of blonde hair, or maybe the flash of a sword.   
“Hey, are you going to help us?” Double Trouble was attempting to fight off a robot that tried to initiate a defence with a sword they had ‘borrowed’ from a fellow bounty hunter.   
“No.” If Skeletor had lips, he’d have licked them in anticipation. “He-Man won’t let this go on for much longer, I know the fool well enough. All I need to do now is wait.” 

Meanwhile, in the castle, Adam stared, horrified, at the destruction being wreaked, and at the figure of Skeletor still holding a struggling Jacob by the hair.   
“What the- we have to do something!” Glimmer gasped.  
“No. I have to do something.” Adam gritted his teeth. “I told you, this is my war.”  
“Yeah, and I told you that we’re going to help, dummy.” Glimmer took the Sword of Power out of Entrapta’s hands, and passed it to Adam. “Now let’s kick this guy off of Etheria!”  
Adora summoned her own blade, and gripped Adam by the shoulders. “This guy took everything from you- I promise, he won’t get away with this.”  
Adam gave a hopeful smile. “I hope you’re right. By the Power of Greyskull!”  
His form was enveloped with light, that quickly gave way to the statuesque form of He-Man, hair and beard flowing majestically in the non-existent breeze.  
“It’s “For the Honour”, but whatever,” Adora muttered.   
“Sorry, what?” Adam said with a frown.  
“Um, I said, For the Honour of Greyskull!” Adora raised her sword skyward, her own transformation flooding the hallway with light, leaving She-Ra stood in all her glory- and about an inch taller than He-Man. Nobody mentioned this last fact.  
“Glimmer, can you teleport us down?” Adora asked.  
Glimmer counted up everyone that was ready to fight- herself, Adam, Adora, Catra, Bow- even Hordak. Six, in all.   
“No problem.” 

Dryl was already in ruins. Skeletor had always taken pride in his destructive capabilities, Adam remembered. He felt sick- and not just because of the teleporting.   
Adora charged into the fray, punching a bandit square in the jaw. Catra followed closely behind, leaping up her girlfriend’s shoulders and delivering a flying axe kick to a second bandit’s face.   
“Not bad,” Adora said with a wry smirk.  
Catra scoffed. “What, is this a competition now?”   
Suddenly, Adam dashed in next to them, taking out three bandits in a single shoulder tackle, ending in a triumphant pose. “Did someone say competition?”   
“Oh, you’re on!” Adora cracked her knuckles and glared at her brother, who replied with a cheeky wink.   
The siblings took off- bandit after bandit was knocked unconscious as the heroes of legend butted heads in competition.   
“That one’s mine!” Adam decked a bandit with a flashy dropkick.   
Adora glowered. “Show-off!” She retaliated with an energy wave from her sword, cutting a path clean through a mob of enemies as they swarmed the two of them.   
Adam did a double take. “You can shoot lasers?! No fair!”   
“That sounds like what someone who’s losing would say!” Adora stuck her tongue out at her brother.   
All of a sudden, a blast of white-hot fire exploded the space between them- so close, both of them felt the heat claw at their faces and singe the ground around them.   
In the midst of their competition, both siblings had forgotten about Skeletor.   
“Now you’re paying attention to me,” the sorcerer said, oddly calm despite the flames dancing in his eye sockets, “hello! It’s rude not to greet old friends, He-Man, don’t you know that?”   
Adam’s jaw set in a hard line. “We aren’t friends. You killed my mother, you sick-“   
“Oh, you people get so hung up on that sort of thing.” Skeletor tossed Jacob aside and lit both of his palms ablaze. “You’ll be able to meet her soon, I assure you.”  
Adam roared, charging him with all of He-Man’s might. Skeletor easily dodged the first sword swing, and blasted him aside like a ragdoll.   
“Now that he’s done with... if it isn’t Princess Adora. You’re a big deal back at home.” He nodded to himself. “It’s an honour.”   
Adora took a ready stance and gritted her teeth. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re trespassing on this planet, and you’re hurting its people. That makes you my enemy.”   
“Don’t know who I am?” Skeletor threw back his head and laughed a rattling, macabre laugh. “Don’t worry. You will soon enough.”   
He shot a volley of energy blasts at her from his outstretched palm. She managed to block the first few with the flat of her blade, but soon the barrage slipped past her guard- every shot felt like a blast from a tank directly to the face, forcing Adora back step by excruciating step.   
With all the strength she could muster and a roar of agony, Adora made a last-ditch attack, barrelling towards Skeletor with her blade brandished before her.   
She hit him square in the chest, hearing bones crack as the sword made impact. The next swing, however, was stopped in its tracks by Skeletor’s open hand.   
“Typical. For the woman that wiped out Horde Prime, I expected bigger things than your brother.”   
With that, Skeletor ripped the sword from Adora’s grip and tossed it aside.   
Unflinching, she punched him in the face.   
“Ow! Who even-“ Skeletor stumbled backwards. “Who does that?!”   
He shot a blast of purple lightning from his fingers, hitting Adora square in the chest, sending shocks rippling down her body in vicious waves. She sank to one knee with a scream.   
Skeletor stared down at her, then lit a fireball in his palm. “If you won’t play fair, neither will I. Now BURN!”  
But before he could deliver the final blow, an arrow wedged itself in his eye socket.   
He did a double take. Stood before him, there was an archer with half a set of armour, a sparkly sorceress, a clone with a cannon on his arm and a royally ticked-off cat-person.   
“Step away from her.” Catra snarled, extending her claws in preparation for a fight.  
Skeletor gave the arrow a yank to no avail. “Do you think a mere arrow can stop me?!”   
“Nope.” Bow winked. “But this will.”   
An explosion flared out of the arrowhead, blowing Skeletor backwards, head over heels, until he slid to an unceremonious halt.  
Bow breathed a sigh of relief. “Hoo boy, I did not expect that to work.”   
Adora grimaced and stood up. “Ow. Thanks, guys.”   
A pile of rubble shook nearby, then Adam exploded out of it with a roar. “Skeletor! Fight me, coward!”   
“Uhhh... you’re a bit late, buddy.” Bow rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry.”   
Adam stretched, wincing while his joints crunched and cracked back into position. “Dangit. Where did you guys come from, anyway?”  
Glimmer scowled. “We were getting the citizens to safety, while you two idiots were having your stupid competition!”   
Both idiots in question hung their heads in shame.   
“A competition that I won,” Catra said with a smirk, gesturing to the heaps of unconscious bounty hunters with claw marks etched into their armour.   
“Not helping, Catra.” Glimmer sighed. “Anyway- what do we do with that guy?” She gestured to Skeletor, who was still lying motionless on the floor. Hordak strode over and looked down sadly at the unconscious sorcerer. “Perhaps we can save him. Nobody deserves to be given up on, you all showed me that.”  
Adam shook his head. “Hordak, get away from him. He’s beyond redemption.”   
Hordak shook his head. “No. I thought I couldn’t be saved- and yet, I was. And maybe... he could be like me.”   
It was only Adam that saw Skeletor twitch on the ground.   
“Hordak, get away!”  
In a blur, Skeletor sprang up, grabbing Hordak by the throat, eye sockets filled with rolling flame.  
“Anybody attack me,” he growled, “and the clone gets it.”   
He turned to the choking Hordak. “Listen closely. I’m nothing like you. I’m nothing like Horde Prime. I’m stronger- far, far stronger. Far older, too. And I’m nothing like what you mortals have seen before. Now kneel before your master.”   
Everyone was motionless for a heartbeat.   
Glimmer clenched her fists. A pink light emanated from them, growing brighter and brighter until she almost hurt to look at.   
“Kneel?” Her eyes began to glow. “I’m the queen of Brightmoon. And you’re asking me to kneel?”   
She teleported, and in a blink she was in Skeletor’s face, delivering a vicious right hook to his jaw which she followed through with a blast of energy.  
For a second, as her strike connected, the outline of a pair of holographic wings formed around her back.  
Skeletor dropped Hordak from the impact and staggered back.   
“That power... You’re an immortal,” he wheezed. “Maybe this planet has more to offer than I thought. This battle isn’t over.” He shook his head. “No, it’s just beginning.”   
With that, he vanished in a flash of light, along with his bandit army.  
Glimmer kicked the ground. “Coward.”   
“We have to get back to Brightmoon as quickly as possible.” Adam transformed back to his usual self. “Call every ally you have, and prepare for the greatest fight of our lives.”   
Bow frowned. “Why, did we mess up?”  
Adam shook his head. “Quite the opposite. For the first time in history, I saw Skeletor scared. We need to fight with every bit of strength we have- because we might just be the first to have a shot at winning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about missing the last instalment- it was my birthday last week, so I took that week off from all writing. Hopefully, this chapter is back up to form!  
> Next week, I get to write the rest of the Princess alliance, which I’m pretty hyped about! Hope you stay tuned!
> 
> Also, hi to Amelia and Kamka if they’re reading this- cheers for actually reading this, guys!


	8. Emergency Meeting

“We’ll have to call a meeting with the alliance.” That’s what Adora had said, a few hours ago. Those words rang in Adam’s ears, as he stared nervously across the table in the meeting room at the people he had expected to be grizzled generals and tactical experts- the sort of people that could, I don’t know, bring down a galactic dictator.  
What they actually were, was a group of bored, annoyed or confused 20-somethings, a small child that couldn’t have been older than 13 and a talking horse. The only vaguely experienced-looking people were two women that were very obviously married, the taller of them watching the other scribble down what were either battle strategies or the minutes of this meeting, and a buff, rather attractive older gentleman that resembled Glimmer in all ways aside from height and facial hair.  
Glimmer herself was sat at the head of the table, with Bow on one side of her and Adora sat on the other. Catra, meanwhile, was asleep on Adora’s lap, and Adam was wedged between the horse and Entrapta, who- after Skeletor’s attack- had Hordak swaddled in her hair like a large, goth baby.  
“Hey, uh, if I can just start the meeting, why are we here? I had a date with Seahawk, and he’s probably set the boat on fire by now.” A woman with blue hair and an imposing trident was first to speak. She looked inconceivably bored.  
Glimmer cleared her throat. “I summon you, of the Princess Alliance, because of a threat to Etheria. One with potentially limitless resources, limitless magic power, and- worst of all- a vendetta against She-Ra. I’ll let our new guest explain.”  
She gestured to Adam, who suddenly felt every eye in the room fall on him. He also suddenly felt self-conscious of just about everything it was possible to feel self-conscious about. Adora gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.  
“Ok- hi. My name is Adam.” Good start. They knew his name. He’d worried that he would forget it in the few moments he’d been talking. “I’m Adora’s brother from another planet, I fell out of the sky yesterday and I have partial amnesia.”  
Judging by the confusion on everyone’s faces, this was where Adam lost them.  
“Are you sure? He looks kinda... scrawny. And Adora’s like, super buff and cool. I don’t see the resemblance.” The blue-haired lady narrowed her eyes.  
“Mermista, don’t be rude!” A woman in a flower crown glared at her. “But she is right, how do we know this isn’t a trick? If there’s someone after She-Ra, we have to be on high alert.”  
Adora sighed. “I trust him, if my opinion counts at all?”  
“Well- you also trusted Flutterina.” Mermista raised an eyebrow. “All I’m saying is, this is exactly like what happened in Mer-mysteries 16: the Killer from beyond the Reef.”  
“They made 16 of those books?” The child spoke up with an incredulous look on her face. “They’re so boring!”  
“Just because you haven’t graduated high school Etherian Literature yet, Frosta, doesn’t mean they’re boring!”  
A tall lady with short white hair raised a hand. No wait, raised a claw. She had scorpion claws. “I really don’t wanna butt in, but uh- what’s a high school?”  
“Oh yeah, sorry Scorpia. I forgot, you grew up in the Horde.” The flower-crowned princess lay a gentle hand on Scorpia’s lap. “It’s uh, a place of education-”  
“It’s where hopes and dreams go to die.” Frosta scowled. “Also I guess Perfuma’s right, you learn stuff sometimes.”  
“Oh, like growing up in the Horde. Gotcha.” Scorpia nodded, satisfied.  
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “You want proof that I’m telling the truth? Fine.” He stood, flinging his chair backwards, drawing his sword and holding it in both hands out in front of him in one fluid motion. “By the power of Greyskull!”  
There stood He-Man, in all his majesty. His golden hair and beard flowed in a nonexistent breeze, the only movement in the now-silent room.  
Oh wait, the breeze was very existent- it was the horse breathing down Adam’s neck.  
“Back to the topic at hand.” He had found his voice at last- rich, deep, powerful- one could call it royal. “The sorcerer following me is named Skeletor. He has one desire- to wipe out the Eternians. The people you know as the First Ones. My family were first. Then, he came for Dryl. And now, while me and Adora are still alive, he’ll come for each and every one of you. That’s why we need your might in combat.” He sheathed his sword on his back. “You are the people that brought down Horde Prime. Something the Eternian army could not do. You can help us bring Skeletor down too.”  
At the mention of Horde Prime, a collective shudder ran down everyone’s spines. Far too many people’s hands flew to the backs of their necks.  
“So how about it?” Adam met everyone’s eyes in turn. Through that turquoise glow they associated with She-Ra’s own strength on the battlefield, they saw pain. The kind that they all knew all too well.  
Mermista slammed a fist on the table. “I’m in.”  
Perfuma raised her hand. “So am I.”  
“If I get to punch people, then count Frostbite on your side.” Frosta crossed her arms in a way she must have thought was intimidating. “Also the army or whatever.”  
“And I’m in too.” Scorpia smiled shyly, looking to Perfuma for support.  
“You already know Mystacor is on your side, sweetie,” the older man said, giving Glimmer an encouraging grin. She grumbled something about “how embarrassing you are, Dad.”  
Adam pulled his chair back and sat down, assuming his regular form. “So it’s settled. Any questions?”  
The woman that had been scribbling in her notebook raised a hand. “Hey- my name’s Netossa, pleased to meet you. This guy- does he have any weaknesses?”  
Adam thought for a moment. “Sorry, I can’t help you there. As far as I know, Skeletor is functionally immortal. He can be overpowered pretty easily, if that’s what you mean. Specifically, with big explosions.”  
Bow grinned at the memory.  
She shook her head. “That’s not good enough. Everybody has a weakness we can exploit.”  
Her wife put a hand on her arm. “Maybe this guy doesn’t. I don’t think... you know who had a weakness, and we beat him, right?”  
“Nope.” Netossa leant forwards in her chair. “His weakness was She-Ra’s magic. Hordak’s weakness was a reliance on First Ones tech. Catra’s was- well, also She-Ra.” She jabbed a finger at Adam. “I’ve known you for all of 15 minutes and I know your weaknesses are low self-esteem, low intelligence and King Micah’s biceps. So tell me. What is his weakness?”  
She flipped her notebook around to reveal annotated diagrams of all of these in turn.  
“I- uh-“ Adam froze.  
“‘Tossa, don’t be mean to the kid,” her wife tutted.  
“I’m sorry, Spinny, but if this guy’s anything like... him- this is vital information if we’re planning any sort of attack.” Netossa planted a kiss on Spinnerella’s cheek in apology.  
Adora rapped her knuckles on the table to draw everyone’s attention, waking Catra up with a start. “We don’t know his weaknesses, sure. But we do know that he ran when he saw Glimmer, right? I bet that means he’s never fought magic users as powerful as us- or even at all.”  
She pointed to King Micah. “We need everyone from Mystacor armed and ready. We need an army that can match Skeletor’s, too- Scorpia, how many Horde soldiers are still in active duty?”  
“Like, a couple thousand? I dunno.” Scorpia shrugged.  
“We need to check. That’ll be our first job- we take inventory in Scorpia’s kingdom, then we arm Mystacor. If we can pin Skeletor’s location down, then it’s up to us to take out his resources and personally neutralise him.”  
Catra whistled. “Not bad. Were you using this kind of strategy against me?”  
Adora blushed. “Not really. I learnt most of it from you.”  
“Adam said Skeletor was unkillable, though.” Glimmer furrowed her brow, clearly thinking of answers to her own query far too violent to bring up in a meeting. “How should we deal with him afterwards?”  
“Nothing is unkillable with science!” Entrapta piped up.  
The room was silent for a moment.  
“I mean... technically, she’s right.” Bow tried for a jovial smile, and failed miserably.  
Catra shrugged. “Strategy’s solid. But there’s one thing we’re all missing. What’s Skeletor’s real plan?”  
“To kill me and Adora, I thought that was kinda obvious,” Adam said with a grimace.  
“No, no, no. His real plan. I’ve worked with some of the most deranged monsters the world’s ever seen- no offence, Hordak- and they all had something secret driving them. Immortality. Power. Getting your oblivious girlfriend to notice your crush on her. Skeletor’s has to be something important.”  
Adam was lost for words. He considered becoming He-Man again, if only because holding a sword made him feel less useless. “So all I know now is that we know everything about how to defeat Skeletor, except for his plan and his weakness. Great. Absolutely freakin’ peachy.”  
“One thing at a time.” Glimmer rose. “Tomorrow, we visit Scorpia’s kingdom. Then, we figure out or next moves as we go- agreed?”  
There was a round of agreements all across the table.  
“Then it’s settled. Meeting over.”  
Everyone began to disperse, mumbling their goodbyes one after the other.  
It wasn’t long before the room was almost totally empty, save for the Best Friend Squad, Adam, and the horse.  
“Well, that was cool!” The horse broke the silence. “I’m gonna go hit the hay, the start of a war is a big day for little horses like me.”  
Adora frowned. “It’s like, 5 in the afternoon, why are you going to sleep?”  
The horse snorted. “Nah, I’m hitting the hay. Carbo-loading.” He unfurled a pair of rainbow wings and launched himself out of the nearest window. “Swiftwind, away!”  
Catra watched him fly off. “Y’know, I’m really lucky to have a magic companion that doesn’t talk.”  
“Your magic companion can’t be bothered to move from the foot of our bed,” Adora grumbled back.  
“I want a magic companion,” Adam said wistfully.  
Bow sighed. “Don’t we all, buddy?”  
Adam nodded in agreement.  
“Welp, I’m gonna go train. Don’t wanna get rusty, y’know?” Adora stood up. “Catra, you coming?”  
“You know it, babe.” Catra kissed Adora on the cheek, and both walked off, hand in hand.  
“Ugh. You’d think a war would get in the way of date night, wouldn’t you?” Glimmer groaned.  
Bow chuckled. “Are you just mad that we missed date night yesterday?”  
“A little. Wanna go inspect the armoury?”  
“You read my mind.”  
The pair teleported off, leaving Adam alone in the meeting room. It was awfully big. Quiet, too, without anyone in there.  
He wondered what exactly “date night” entailed. Training really didn’t seem very relaxing. Then again... Adam’s memory was still fuzzy, but he didn’t seem to remember ever having trained with someone he loved. Had he ever loved anyone at all?  
He wasn’t sure which was worse. To have never loved, or to have loved someone and forgotten them. If he had loved someone, were they even alive? Was there a pile of ash on the floor, a hundred light years away, that had once been a man he had shared his life with, one that might have even died protecting him, of all people. His eyes went hot with tears.  
It wasn’t worth worrying about. He wiped his eyes and got up, plodding off to the spare room that apparently belonged to him now, hoping to catch an early night. He hoped someone had changed the bloodied sheets. 

***

Double Trouble hated meetings. People droning on and on about pointless drivel, usually entirely self-centred in it all. If Double Trouble wanted to listen to that, they’d watch a good soliloquy. Or better, recite one.  
This meeting was almost the same, except Skeletor- now sporting a charred starburst around one eye- and Double Trouble were the only ones in attendance. After the sorcerer teleported the injured ranks of bandits to a secluded location, they’d begun to set up a camp- surrounded by an imposing wall of black rock Skeletor had summoned.  
He now lounged on a makeshift throne he had made with the last of his magic reserves. It was more of a big chair, really, but nobody wanted to comment on it.  
“You called me?” Double Trouble asked.  
“Indeed.” Skeletor glanced around at the injured, recuperating bandits. “You didn’t tell me how strong He-Man’s backup would be.”  
“To be fair, I never thought they were that strong. A shirtless archer, a human glitter bomb and a cat person with mommy issues gave your army the works? Maybe I’m on the wrong side of this war.”  
Skeletor growled, a low, hollow purr that resonated through the ground and into Double Trouble’s very core. “What other resources do these people have?”  
Double Trouble pondered a moment. “I believe the Princess Alliance is still around. Plus, the Horde is now firmly on their side, complete with their chief engineer- y’know, the one who’s kingdom we attacked. They’re also the people who hired me to gather intel on the Princess Alliance- something I pulled off flawlessly, by the way, giving them the edge in the war.”  
“Hmm. So the little nerd’s old army is good for something after all.” Skeletor flexed his wrist, watching purple lightning coil around his fingers. “They need to be neutralised. Do you know of the Azurus virus?”  
“I do not.”  
Skeletor snapped his fingers, and the purple lightning turned red. “Pass me your dagger.”  
Double Trouble obliged. The bone blade began to burn, turning grey, black, then finally crimson.  
“Get this to their technological centre. It’s an invasive Eternian virus that turns all tech into dangerous weapons of war. I’ve even theorised that it could work on He-Man, but I never tried it.” He gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. “Go wild. Just remember which side of this war’s paying you.”  
Double Trouble took their dagger back. It didn’t feel any different, despite the colour change- maybe a bit heavier, but that was it. They gave a mocking bow. “You have my word. Oh, this will be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’m not dead, yay!  
> I’m sorry this took so long, I hit a major lack of motivation and it sucked, but I’m back and I have a new chapter!  
> If you like this, please leave a nice comment or some kudos, it means a lot.  
> Until next time!


	9. An Impostor Among Us

Scorpia’s kingdom- once the Fright Zone- was a beautiful place. The old metal infrastructure had been, for the most part, totally replaced with real buildings, proper pathways winding through the apartment blocks housing the ex-soldiers of the Horde, plants (courtesy of Perfuma) coiling over what wasn’t totally demolished and remade, the cold, heartless mood now warm and full of life.  
And Double Trouble hated it. Sure, they’d had a bad night’s sleep. Sure, it had been a long drive from Skeletor’s encampment. Sure, they were probably just cranky. They really didn’t care.  
They had assumed the disguise of Flutterina- the kid was innocent looking enough to sneak around unnoticed, but it was mostly just because she had wings. It wasn’t gonna cut it any further from here, besides- for one, there was a disgustingly high chance of running into someone that recognised her. That just wouldn’t do.  
Their thoughts were interrupted by noises from around a corner- they had landed in an alleyway, and these noises were coming right past the entrance- it was a skinny ex-soldier with a mop of curly blonde hair and bags under his eyes big enough to be suitcases, carrying what was evidently a gift bag.  
“So, I’ve picked up groceries and a chew toy for Imp,” he mumbled, “but I said I’d pick up a treat for Lonnie and Rogelio, it’s our 1 month anniversary... what would they like?” He put his head in his hands with a groan. “I’m a terrible boyfriend.”  
Double Trouble assumed their normal form and stepped out from the shadows. “Is there a boba tea place near here? I hear that’s what everyone’s crazy about nowadays.”  
“Hey, there’s one a block away! Thanks, random lizard person!”  
Double Trouble gave a wicked grin. “My pleasure.”  
Their tail whipped out, lashing around his ankle. He tumbled to the ground, smashing his face against the floor. There was a metallic clang as he made impact- maybe the cold steel of the Fright Zone wasn’t so covered up after all.  
Double Trouble flipped him onto his back with the toe of their boot. He was unconscious, and a nasty bruise was beginning to form on his forehead. They rooted through his pockets, finding a sack of gold coins, a badge with a tiny radio transceiver and an ID card, identifying the kid as “Kyle”.  
“Nothing personal, Kyle.” They crouched, studying his face, slowly morphing their features until they had a perfect likeness. “It’s just business, you understand, right?”  
Kyle didn’t respond, on account of being unconscious.  
Double Trouble shrugged, picked up Kyle’s gift bag and waltzed off to buy tea. 

***

Adam didn’t enjoy teleporting. He enjoyed flying on Swiftwind much less. The horse loved to chatter about pretty much everything, which meant he often didn’t concentrate on where he was going- and Adam was really starting to get sick of near-death experiences. Plus, the horse’s breath smelled like old hay.  
By the time they landed, while everyone else was admiring the refurbishment of what was once the Fright Zone- from the huge landing pad they had touched down in, the entire kingdom was visible- Adam was hunched on the floor trying not to barf.  
“Hey guys!” Scorpia came rushing over. “You like what I’ve done with the place?”  
Catra ran her claws along the wall of the nearest building, a few metres from the rest of the group, sweeping some hanging flowers aside to see the old metal underneath. “It doesn’t look anything like the Fright Zone anymore.”  
“I love it,” Adora said, staring around wide-eyed in wonder.  
“Thought you might.” Scorpia grinned. “Oh! Glimmer- Queen Glimmer- , hi, uh, do I need to curtsy? Salute? Welcome to my kingdom. It doesn’t have a name yet.”  
Glimmer laughed. “Nah, you’re good. This whole ‘running a kingdom’ business is new to me, too.”  
“Besides, who really cares about formalities, anyway?” Catra shrugged.  
Adam muttered something, but whether it was in agreement or to the contrary was masked by him being face-down on the metal floor.  
“Yeah, like- remember Princess Prom?” Adora giggled. “That was so stressful!”  
Scorpia gave a sage nod. “Course, it was worse for me, on account of having two pounds of firebombs strapped to my chest.”  
“Firebombs you used to kidnap us.” Glimmer scowled for a moment, then broke out into laughter. “Man, remember when we were actually fighting? That was wild.”  
“I have several questions.” Adam had struggled to his feet, now leaning on Bow for support.  
Bow stroked his chin. “Do you know what an enemies-to-lovers arc is? Because, uh, that.”  
Adam didn’t know, but figured it was fairly self-explanatory.  
“Anyway!” Scorpia clapped her claws together. “Y’all are here to check out our army, right? Come with me, I’ll radio for our new force captains.”  
She strode off with the others in tow, fumbling with a little badge everyone recognised as one from the old Horde. “We wanted to get rid of everything Horde-y around here- we’re definitely gonna get some new tech soon, but Entrapta insisted on universal upgrades using First Ones tech, which has run into- um- difficulties.”  
Adam gave a sarcastic wave. “That’s me. The difficulty.”  
“Well- uh- I mean- you’re not wrong.” Scorpia looked embarrassed. “Oh look, it’s the force captains! Hi guys!”  
She waved two people over- a green-scaled reptilian guy and a shorter, muscle-bound woman with a scowl that suggested someone was trying her patience. Adam hoped it wasn’t him.  
“You called?” The woman was first to speak, raising an eyebrow in look that, somehow, Scorpia didn’t wither under entirely.  
“Hey! I don’t know if you heard the news, but-“  
“Yeah. She-Ra but a dude and the genocidal maniac chasing him.” She extended a hand to Adam. “Lonnie. This is my boyfriend Rogelio. Our other part was supposed to be here, but he got caught up buying groceries.”  
“It’s an honour,” Adam replied.  
“Uh huh. The kid should also be around here somewhere- Rogelio, have you seen Imp?”  
Rogelio shrugged.  
Suddenly, a tiny pair of hands grabbed Adam by the hair, almost pulling him over with a shriek. Lonnie’s voice played again in his ears- “Have you seen Imp?” The strange thing was, Lonnie was still stood right there, her mouth firmly closed- though a smirk played at its corners.  
“Oh, there he is. Imp, be nice to the guest.”  
Adam reached behind him and caught his assailant- a demonic baby that, despite still having a tuft of blonde hair in his hands, was almost cute enough to forgive. Almost.  
He scowled at the kid, who giggled and scampered off to Rogelio, up his leg until he stopped on a perch on the big guy’s shoulder  
Scorpia frowned. “Seriously- where the heck is Kyle? It doesn’t take that long to buy groceries, does it?”  
Everyone was silent.  
“No really. Does it take that long to buy groceries? I’ve never- y’know.”  
“Should we radio for him again?” Adora looked worried. “I know Kyle is- well, Kyle- but what if something’s happened to him and it’s all our fault-“  
“Adora! Chill!” Catra snapped. “It’s not your fault, idiot. If anything, it’s my fault-“  
A loud dial tone cut through the conversation, the piercing sound ricocheting around the street. It came from Lonnie’s badge, deliberately being held aloft for maximum volume.  
“When you two lovebirds stop... whatever it is you’re doing, he’s picking up.”  
Kyle’s voice was tinny through the tiny speaker: “Hello? Who’s there?”  
“Who’s there, Kyle, is your girlfriend, your boyfriend, our kid, and half the Princess alliance that you’re letting down by not being here.”  
“Uh huh. Which half?”  
“Oh boy, you’re trying my patience today, aren’t you? The half we were told would be here yesterday, that you need to brief about our new tech, which is your damn JOB as FORCE CAPTAIN, KYLE!”  
“Yup, ok, sorry babe, I’m picking up some boba tea for you, does that make things better?”  
Rogelio grunted approvingly.  
“That doesn’t let him off the hook at all, Rogelio.” Lonnie looked about ready to kill someone. “We’ll meet up at the barracks, you’d better be there or so help me-“  
The receiver cut out suddenly.  
“Huh, I’d have thought Kyle becoming a force captain would make him less useless,” Catra mused.  
Lonnie scowled. “I’d argue with you, but you’re right. I hate it when you’re right.” She motioned in the vague direction of the barracks. “Let’s go. If anyone makes me angry again I’ll punch them.”  
Rogelio growled. What he was commenting on couldn’t really be pinpointed, but the way Lonnie blushed it wasn’t something anyone really wanted to understand.  
“You’d better can it, wiseguy, that also means you.”  
The group walked in silence down metal-paved, flower-adorned streets, bustling with ex-horde soldiers, robots, civilians- one had to assume that, with the renovation going on, people were actively moving into what used to be the iron-clad military centre of the world. Adora felt at ease with it, strangely. She had expected to feel robbed of the memories of growing up here, but- well, they were bad memories, for the most part, of war, propaganda, abuse. She could practically feel Shadow Weaver’s deathly cold claws brush against her cheek. The only good memories of this place were those of her family. Despite their estrangement, Adora grew up with Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio- and they had some good memories of one another, no matter whatever their current opinions of each other were. And, well... Catra was a whole different story. A saga of heartbreak, conflict and redemption. One they now shared. She found herself reaching for Catra’s hand, squeezing it tight; Catra brushed her tail against Adora’s forearm in response, entwined in an almost secret embrace.  
“So, how long have you, Rogelio and Kyle been together?” Glimmer finally broke the silence.  
“Uhhhh...” Lonnie paused to think. “A month or so? We’re still ironing out the complicated parts, but I’d say we’re happy like this.”  
Rogelio rested his snout on Lonnie’s head, purring softly.  
“Yeah. We’re happy.” Her irritated demeanour cracked into a soft smile as she put an arm around Rogelio. Imp chirped in delight.  
“Man, you guys are so cute,” Scorpia said. She wiped a tear away with her claw. “I wish my girlfriend was here, she’s the best- well, you’ve already met her, you know that, but I just wanna say it again.”  
Everyone nodded their agreement- to Perfuma being the best, or just wanting to reiterate how cool their respective partners were, it really didn’t have to be clear.  
It reminded Adam of how much was at stake, too. He really didn’t want to dwell on it, but it still gnawed at the back of his mind, like a parasite, or a computer virus slowing everything down by just a fraction as it beat him over the head with pop-ups. Thoughts of imminent death and ads for free gold were basically the same thing, right?  
They came up to a huge, square building- despite a tasteful decoration of red roses, the place stuck out for its sharp edges, dark pallet and the blacked-out windows that let neither hope nor sunlight through. And Hordak used to wonder why his soldiers had vitamin D deficiencies.  
“Here we are!” Scorpia, somehow, still sounded upbeat. “The barracks- Adora, Catra, you guys remember this place, right?”  
Adora nodded. “Is everything still the same on the inside, too? I think I left some stuff behind, way back when I ran away.”  
“Eh, more or less- the bedrooms are the same, at least. Lot more robots crammed in there now, though.”  
A young man stood near the door. He had the body language of someone that had no clue what they were doing, the eyes of someone that hadn’t slept in a while, and the awkward smile of someone that had severely disappointed their girlfriend. He also had three cups of boba tea. This, Adam presumed, was Kyle.  
“Hey guys! The, uh, keypad broke.” Kyle gestured to a keypad on the wall that presumably opened the heavy metal door next to it. Half the buttons were missing. “I didn’t do it.”  
Lonnie put her head in her hands. “Kyle, if I didn’t love you I’d be so mad right now.”  
Rogelio nodded his agreement. Imp blew a raspberry at him.  
Bow inspected the keypad. “It looks like it’s been hit pretty bad, or... punched? Maybe a robot malfunctioned, or something?”  
“Hope not.” Scorpia knelt beside him. “All the time I spent with Emily, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt one of the lil guys.”  
She brought her claw up to the keypad; red lightning coursed over it and the door opened with a hiss.  
“There. Let’s go, team!” Kyle waited by the door for everyone to go in- to be polite, of course, and to give his partners their tea, that’s what they all must have thought- but also because, as he slipped his hand out of his pocket, a blue graze was visible on his knuckles, the remnants of their sabotage. In spite of their secrecy, Double Trouble couldn’t help but afford themselves a grin. They were in.

The door opened out to an elevator- a big one, that must have once been for carrying troops en masse up to their quarters. Muffled piano music began to play.  
“You guys realise I can just teleport to the top, right? Why do we have to just sit here?!” Glimmer groaned.  
“Could you teleport 10 people to the top of a building without dying or getting any of us stuck in a wall, though?” Bow responded- though he looked as if he knew the answer already.  
“It’d be better than listening to this garbage.” She crossed her arms and pouted. “Any of you heard of ‘we fell in love in october’?”  
Adora perked up. “Hey, I love that song!”  
“I know, right? And ‘I wanna be your girlfriend’-“  
“Don’t get me started, I love that one!”  
“Uh, what are we talking about?” Catra butted in.  
“A really famous performer, princess in scarlet, she’s great. You should listen to her,” Adora said.  
“Huh, I’ve heard of her.” Catra smirked. “Yeah, you could say I listen to princess in scarlet, if you catch my drift.”  
“Oh! I didn’t know; which one of her songs is your favourite?”  
“That’s not- I didn’t- nevermind”  
The lift made a *ding* noise as it reached the top of the building. True to what Scorpia had said, the place was packed with scrap metal, weaponry, and of course, robots- mostly stacked in piles, blinking lights switched off and legs folded into their spherical shells.  
“Whoa...” Glimmer raised her hand and lit the room with a ball of pink light. “How many of these guys are there?” Her eyes shone with a mixture of awe and destructive glee.  
“There’s about a couple hundred per floor, depending on how big the rooms are, and- I dunno, forty floors?” Scorpia scratched her chin (very carefully) with the tip of her claw. “Most of them are deactivated, not broken ‘cause Entrapta wanted to get them all to Dryl safely, but that project got put on hold because, uh...“  
“Difficulties.” Adam sighed. “I know.”  
“Anyway, there’s a universal activation switch somewhere around here. It uses First Ones tech, maybe you could sniff it out, or something?”  
Both Adam and Adora raised an eyebrow.  
“Right. Nevermind then. We’re just going to have to... find it. Among all these robots.” Scorpia put her claws on her hips. “Dang.”  
Everyone groaned, and began to split up- Adam found himself with Bow and Kyle, a few rooms away from everyone else.  
He inspected a bot carefully. It looked big, round, and exceedingly heavy. Immovable, certainly. Well, nearly immovable.  
“By the power of Greyskull!”  
He-man lifted the bot above his head to reveal... nothing. This could take a while.  
“Hey, big guy!” Kyle ushered Adam over. “Me and Bow think there’s something behind this pile of stuff. Wanna check it out?”  
“Sure thing!”  
Adam squatted near the pile. It was mostly comprised of scrap metal, with a huge stack of metal plates in the centre. They weren’t particularly well-cut; their rough edges scratched the insides of Adam’s forearms as he hefted them up. Little doodles decorated the top one- it depicted two smiling cartoon faces, in what looked like a child’s drawing- one with spiky hair and fangs, the other with a ponytail, covered in deep scratches that almost obscured it entirely. Curious.  
“You guys found anything?” Adam felt his grip begin to loosen.  
“Not yet.” Bow swept a pile of metal scraps aside. “Hey, uh... Kyle?”  
“Yeah?” Kyle didn’t look up.  
“I just wanna say... remember ages ago, when the Horde took me and Glimmer captive? I tried to distract you so the alliance could break in.” Bow glanced away, down at the junk pile he was rooting through. “In the process I took your feelings for granted. I’m sorry, and I think it’s great that we’re on the same side now, and I hope we can become real friends now.”  
Kyle remained quiet. “That’s nice.” He tossed aside a metal plate.  
“Hey, guys? You nearly done down there?” Adam hoisted his stack of metal plates up a bit, wincing as it scraped against his chest.  
“You’re a good guy, Bow. Really.” Kyle’s hand paused over a last metal scrap.  
“Any time now?”  
“But you’re so... what’s the word? Trusting. Naive. Stupid.” Kyle’s face split into a smile- not a friendly one, by any means, but more of a vicious baring of his teeth. Were they always that sharp?  
“Kyle, what the-“ Bow saw it all a second too late. The sharp-toothed smile. The blue graze on their knuckles. The knife at their belt. “Oh. Oh no.”  
Double Trouble drew the dagger in a blinding-quick motion, slashing it at Bow’s face. It missed by a hair, sinking into Adam’s thigh instead. He roared with pain and dropped the metal plates with a great clatter, causing both other fighters to jump back.  
Bow nocked an arrow and loosed it at not-Kyle. It exploded on impact into a green gel, sticking them to the wall. They shapeshifted- first into Scorpia, the strength of her claws busting through the restraints like wet paper, then into their usual, reptilian form.  
“Where’s Kyle?!” Bow growled, another arrow already ready to loose.  
“Face-down in an alleyway.” Double Trouble checked their nails. “It’s not very glamorous, but then again, neither was he.”  
“Was?”  
Bow grimaced and fired at his assailant. The first arrow barely missed them as they sprinted forwards, slashing their dagger against the bots they passed, leaving a thin red streak across each and every one in the room.  
A second arrow was slightly more lucky. It split into a rope net and lashed around Double Trouble’s knife arm, causing them to stumble past Bow milliseconds before they plunged their knife into his exposed gut.  
“Hey, it’s not like I killed him!” They smiled again, but it was far more strained this time, less a cheeky grin and more a murderous sneer.  
Their leg swept out and tripped Bow up before he could fire again. He barely caught himself and brought his knee up to Double Trouble’s face, then fired an arrow into their leg that covered them in the restraining gel.  
“Can I please get an assist?!” He used his second of free time to shout at Adam, who was still knelt with his back to Bow by the pile of junk.  
Adam didn’t move.  
“Adam?” It was then that Bow saw the crimson veins spidering up the surfaces of the bots. Their lights blinked on, blood-red. And those same veins were spreading up He-Man’s leg; up his chest; up his neck; onto his unsheathed sword.  
And as he finally turned, they had reached his face too. Blood-red eyes stared hungrily back at Bow.  
“What’s the matter, arrow boy? Scared?” Double Trouble had broken out of their restraints.  
“I’m not scared.” He gulped and clutched his bow to his chest.  
He-Man took a step forward. The metal fractured under his feet.  
“I’m terrified. RUN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! This has been a long chapter, and it still had to end on a cliffhanger- don’t worry, it won’t take 4 months to come out next time.   
> As for now, are you guys enjoying the story so far? Anything you’d like to see? I have an overarching plot planned, but there’s absolutely space for more character moments if that’s what you want.  
> See you next time!


	10. Hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Descriptions of blood and serious injury, reader discretion is advised.

Bow’s feet pounded against the metal floor. His heart thumped in his chest. And the sound of He-Man’s footsteps grew closer and closer behind him. He had subconsciously grabbed Double Trouble by the wrist, dragging them along like a scaly ragdoll.  
“Get- off of- me!!” They fought against Bow’s grip with their free claw, scratching at the flesh they could actually reach while stumbling after him in an irritated bid for freedom.  
“And let you die? Because you might have just tried to kill me, but I really don’t want your death on my conscience!”  
They rounded a corner and Bow’s heart sank. The virus had already begun to spread- robots were powering on, turning slowly to face them- their red eyes reminding Bow of the worst days of the Horde.  
A volley of laser fire streaked past them- one narrowly missed Double Trouble, instead skimming past their tail close enough to singe away scales.  
“I said get off!! I don’t want to be your human shield!”  
Bow grimaced. “I’ve fought this virus before. It turns the tech against anyone and anything- you aren’t safe!”  
“Oh, like I’m falling for that!”  
They hammered a fist into Bow’s gut, causing him to stumble to the ground.  
Triumphant, they turned to the robots, twirling their dagger between two fingers. “Dispatch him.” They winked at Bow. “Like I said, nothing personal. That’s just business, darling.”  
But the robots didn’t fire. Instead, they all focused on Double Trouble’s head.  
And the heavy footsteps of He-man grew closer.  
Double Trouble chuckled nervously. “Guys? C’mon, you’re under my command?”  
The barrels of every laser began to prime. A low whistle emanated from every robot in the room. And finally, those footsteps rounded the corner.  
Bow was too petrified to even crawl away. Adam- no, that wasn’t him, not anymore- had been totally taken by the virus, red veins pulsing grotesquely through his body that appeared to move to some discordant rhythm, as if they were strings on some grim marionette. His sword was held in two hands, but due to his momentum trailed behind him like an afterthought- or perhaps the calculated start of a mighty swing to cleave some poor archer or morally ambiguous lizard-person in two. And his face... set in a cold, emotionless stare. Emotionless, until he locked eyes with Double Trouble. Then, it morphed into a twisted snarl- no- a smile.  
Double Trouble swallowed hard. “Hey, uh- nothing personal, right? Cmon, big guy-“  
He-Man cut them short by charging into them full-force, barely slowing down as their lanky form was sent crashing through the wall behind them and suddenly, Bow found the strength to move. He sprang up and fired once, twice, three times behind him in quick succession, each arrow exploding into green goo that was theoretically strong enough to stop a tank in its tracks. It stopped He-Man for a second- maybe half a second. Maybe not at all.  
He reached striking range and at the last moment Bow ducked and rolled out of the way, watching the blade take a chunk out of a robot that happened to be in the way. It fired back in retaliation, distracting He-man long enough for Bow to make a run for it, listening to the man he considered a friend roar like a wild beast and tear the robot apart with a sound like a tin can in a blender.  
Bow’s mind raced as fast as his heart and his sore feet. The virus, Double Trouble, Kyle, He-Man- and where were his friends? How fast did that virus spread- he thought it might rely on contact, but what had it contacted? And his friends would have called if they were hurt, right? Unless they were taken by surprise, like Bow was, and then they wouldn’t have radioed in because they’d be fighting and then they’d get overwhelmed and then Glimmer would die and-  
Bow took a breath. His friends were capable. His girlfriend especially. They’d taken on thousands of robots, and they’d take on more with no sweat. What he should really be worried about was the pounding of heavy boots reaching a crescendo behind him.  
He-man’s breath ripped out in great, heaving grunts that Bow swore he could feel getting closer and closer to the back of his neck- he had seconds, if that.  
He weighed up his options. He-Man was stronger than him. Faster than him. Able to shrug off more damage than him. Able to turn his squishy mortal flesh into the stuff that goes into chicken nuggets in a second flat. But maybe with the virus’s impact, he wasn’t as smart.  
Faster than he’d ever moved before, Bow swung around, gritted his teeth, shut his eyes and fired an arrow directly at his friend’s head.  
He-man snatched it out of the air and roared loud enough to rattle the floor below him- and to drown out the faint beeping of the explosive-laden arrowhead.  
Three, two, one-  
The shockwave blew Bow off his feet. He landed hard on his side, skidded to a stop against a wall and lay there wincing as the scuffs and burns on his exposed skin began to sting in the cold air. But, judging by the holes in the floor and ceiling, showing the dark void of several stories likely full of infected robots and the clear blue sky respectively, the bomb had done what it needed to. There was a faint clatter as a large, dense object hit the ground a few floors below. A groan. Then a growl. Then footsteps lumbering off into silence.  
Bow should have been terrified, knowing that now He-Man had the element of surprise when they next met, but all he felt was the relief of being able to exhale for the first time in minutes.  
Bow’s radio crackled on.  
“Bow? Bow, are you there?!” It was Glimmer. She sounded on the verge of tears.  
“Yeah, I’m here. Barely.”  
She gave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. We heard this explosion, and now bots are attacking us- what the heck’s going on?”  
“It’s the virus from Dryl, the one that got She-Ra ages ago. It’s back, and now it’s got He-Man. He almost killed me, but then I blew him up and escaped. That’s what the, uh, noise was.”  
Bow sat up and winced. “Oh, and also Kyle wasn’t actually Kyle, he- they, sorry- were actually Double Trouble, who I think is working for Skeletor now. The real Kyle’s fine, though. I think.”  
“Oh... oh no. We’ve barricaded ourselves up against the bots, but if Adam’s also out there... stay there, I’m coming to get you.”  
“Thanks, be careful of the giant hole in the floor though. Love you!”  
“I love you too.”  
Bow listened to the comms static cut out as the call ended. The adrenaline rush was still numbing his body, but as it began to wear off, he became acutely aware of how many ribs he had probably broken. Ow.  
A familiar flash of pink light showed up in his peripheral vision. Bathed in the afterglow of teleportation that had marked fleeting safety for Bow for years, Glimmer looked like some kind of angelic superhuman, amethyst eyes burning with righteous rage amongst a misty sheen of worry and those sparks, that twisted themselves into a maelstrom of blues and pinks and purples in the heat of battle. She wore new scuff marks and laser burns like badges, such was the way she carried herself- and maybe Bow had just hit his head and was succumbing to delirium, but from his slumped position she looked nine feet tall. Entirely fitting and deserving her status, as an immortal, as a sorceress, as a queen.  
“You’re looking at me weirdly, did you hit your head?” She crouched and met him at eye level. “Wait, no. That’s your ‘in love’ face. Phew, I was worried for a second.”  
She tried and failed to conceal a blushing smile.  
Bow returned the grin in turn. “Just glad to see you’re alright.”  
She planted a kiss on his forehead. Unlike Adora and Catra, neither of them had some way to tell the other everything that they meant to say when they were silent together- but then again, maybe nothing needed saying.  
The rush of teleportation lanced through Bow’s stomach. He opened his eyes slowly. The team looked in horrible shape: Rogelio was slumped against a wall with red, raw, scaleless skin on his knuckles, shoulders, and tail being bandaged up by Lonnie, who in turn nursed a brutal black eye. Both looked miserable, probably because Imp was nowhere to be seen.  
Scorpia’s thick arms were streaked with lightning-bolt burns, evidently from overusing her powers as her claws occasionally crackled with red electricity when she moved- she winced every time it did, but still she kept a pained smile when Bow met her eyes. Still- how could a princess even overuse their powers? The sheer output she must have been using, and still the robots kept coming. And now, they had He-Man to deal with.  
Adora looked like she knew this fact too well. Her blue eyes looked like gunmetal in the darkness, her jaw clenched in either pain or stoicism, her gaze fixed on the barricaded door. She had grabbed a spare training staff in favour of her sword for fear of the virus, but judging by the blood dripping from her knuckles it hadn’t been on hand at the time. So they were ambushed- and now trapped.  
And finally, Catra seemed worst off out of everyone; vicious-looking burns streaked her arms and legs, with a huge one still steaming at her side as she bandaged it up. Despite her injuries, she was purring softly- apparently it was a frequency that helped to heal tissue damage, Bow remembered her saying that once. From the way her hands shook as she patched herself up, she needed it.  
Glimmer groaned and dropped to one knee.  
Bow nudged her. “Hey, babe- you alright?”  
She nodded listlessly. “Yeah. Just... a lot of teleporting makes you feel kinda dizzy.”  
“Wait, how many robots attacked you?” Bow looked from person to battered person hesitantly.  
“Well, they started targeting us, I dunno, 15 minutes ago?” Adora scratched her chin with the end of her staff. “And they all kinda charged us, so I didn’t really keep count, but like, 30? 40?”  
“Altogether?”  
“Each.”  
There was an almost melancholy silence. They couldn’t keep this up- they all knew that. But what else could they even do? Without a way to shut the virus down, they were surrounded. Trapped. Hunted.  
Unless...  
Bow snapped his fingers. “Does anyone have a way to contact Entrapta? She’s the only person I know that’s studied the virus, she’s gotta have some way of killing it!”  
“Uh, yeah, I’d love to say I do, but our radios don’t reach that far.” Scorpia fiddled with her badge. “Again, that was going to be fixed, but, well, y’know-“  
“Here.” Catra held out a personal communicator, glancing away when Bow came to take it. “I have her number. Not because I like her or anything, it’s for tactical purposes. Shut up.”  
“Huh. Thanks!” Bow took the device, watching the number for “Robot Girl” dial. Other names included: “Pincers”, “Sparkles”, “Croptop”, “Therapist”, “Scary Net Lady” and “Adora <3<3<3”.  
Catra scowled as she watched him read. He chose not to comment on her naming conventions, or on how his shirt wasn’t a crop top, it was a cropped jacket and that yes, there was a difference-  
“Hello?” Entrapta seemed preoccupied.  
“Hey! So, do you remember that weird First Ones virus that infected your tech that one time? Well, it’s back! And we’re kinda under attack right now and we really need your help to fix it because you’re the only person we know that’s studied it and also we’re going to die very soon if we can’t stop it!”  
Entrapta was silent for a moment. “So, this is a bad thing, right?”  
“Yep. Yep, that’s a very bad thing.” Bow took a deep breath to calm his nerves.  
“Because from a scientific standpoint, this is actually super interesting and I can barely control my excitement, but also you guys dying is, like, really bad. And we don’t want that to happen.”  
“Correct.”  
“I’ll see what I can do- where are you, exactly?”  
Scorpia chipped in. “Barracks number 8, in the former Fright Zone. Y’know, with all the robots.”  
“Obviously, that’s why the virus is dangerous. That and its ability to take She-Ra out of the equation, but you guys know that-“  
“Yeah.” Adora sighed. “Yeah, we know.”  
“Oh hi Adora, you aren’t infected. That’s great. Anyway, I’m into the mainframe of the surveillance system.”  
“Huh. That was fast.”  
“Not really. I designed it. Anyway, I’m zeroing in on your heat signatures- 9th floor, I have eyes on all eight of you.”  
Everyone froze.  
“Entrapta.” Catra’s voice shook. “Did you say eight?”  
“Yeah! There’s eight of you concentrated within a few square meters, the data shows that. And data doesn’t lie!”  
“Rogelio, Lonnie, Scorpia, Bow, Glimmer, Adora, me. There’s only seven of us.”  
“No, definitely eight. Two by the north wall. Two by the east wall- one holding the comms. One by the west wall. Two very close, also by the west wall, closer to the middle. And one... behind the west wall. Huh.”  
Just then, there came a creak of warping metal just behind Catra. Behind the wall.  
“Oh no.”  
All of a sudden, the wall exploded. First visible through the dust was the flash of a silver sword. Then the glowing red eyes. Then the grotesque snarl.  
He-man had hunted them down.  
Through instinct alone, everyone sprang up and ran for the door. Scorpia charged it full-force, blowing it off its hinges, ushering everyone through and out into the corridor past volleys of plasma, away from... that.  
It wasn’t Adam, that was for sure.  
Adora was last out, fear dragging her forwards faster than her brain could work. If she was She-Ra, she could have made a stand, but the virus had made that impossible. All that was left was to run.  
She glanced over her shoulder for a second, expecting to see what used to be her brother chasing them down the same way the bots had charged them upon their ambush. What she saw instead, though, was far more horrifying. It was him lumbering along a couple hundred metres behind her, with an arm outstretched. And a scrawny figure in his grip.  
He had Catra by the throat.  
She kicked and punched and tried her hardest to scream despite the hand around her windpipe- but nothing shook his iron grip.  
Dirt and grease and blood smeared He-Man’s once-majestic hair, now hanging limply around his face, casting his face into shadow. His crimson eyes looked through her. His animalistic grin seemed painted on. He was nothing more than a mindless husk- no more than any other murderous bot.  
Black spots danced in Catra’s vision. Adora sprinted for her, but both of them knew it was too late.  
Of course Adora would never give up on her. And that probably meant He-Man would kill her next.  
Maybe she would become She-Ra to try and save her. She’d get infected, then both would hunt down every single one of their friends. They had lost. They failed.  
Tears trickled down Catra’s face.  
No.  
She wouldn’t die like this.  
She sunk her claws deep into He-Man’s bicep. He winced and dropped her, crouching over his wounded arm almost in disbelief.  
Her breath tore out against her bruised throat in shaky coughs while she stared He-Man down. She was vaguely aware of Adora still approaching, though all she felt in the moment was sheer adrenaline, barely holding back the instinct to attack or to flee.  
Then those red eyes flicked up to meet hers, and she lost control. Her claws flicked up to his face. She felt them rend flesh as they made an impact so violent, he dropped his blade and went stumbling backwards, collapsing a few metres away, leaving a splattered trail of crimson in his wake.  
And then, there was quiet.  
“Catra!” Adora tackled her girlfriend. “I can’t- I thought- he was going to-“  
“I’m fine.” Catra’s voice shook.  
“I’m so sorry, I should have waited for you.” Adora’s eyes welled up with tears. “He could have killed you.”  
“Well, he didn’t.” Catra snapped. “I’m fine, I told you.”  
She pushed away from Adora, out of her embrace. Then she sighed, and put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled, I’m just... on edge. Thank you for asking, though.”  
Adora didn’t respond. Instead, she pulled Catra in close, and trailed a hand across the tip of her tail.  
“It’s ok. I’m here, and I’ll stay as long as you need me to, I promise.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Now...” Adora looked around. Their friends were long-gone, as were the robots chasing them. The corridor seemed entirely desolate- just the start of a maze that seemed as familiar and as distant as a dream come morning, littered with murderous robots. Oh, and there was still Adam to deal with, now unconscious and bleeding, shrinking back into his old, scrawny self.  
“...What do we do now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, wasn’t that fun? Thanks for reading this, anyway- and stick around for the final part of this virus arc, hopefully coming out within a month! Hopefully.  
> Also, between the blood and descriptions of various nasty things, does this need to be tagged with any specific trigger warnings other than what I already have? If so, please tell me because I really don’t want to upset anyone, and sorry in advance if I did.  
> And also, nice comments and kudos will probably make my entire week so pls leave some :3  
> Until next time!


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